Windows of the Soul Reloaded
by Dez Guardius
Summary: It's Windows of the Soul, but better than before. New people, new dangers, new adventure. Naruto x Hinata x Multi.
1. The Remainder

Howdy folks, Dez Guardius here. I owe you all an apology for the length of time, and I apologize here and now. It's been a while, so I'll get everything out: WotD is on something of a permanent hiatus until I can find out where to go with it, and WotS is being revamped.

That revamp is here, apparently.

I know this is disappointing, and I'm disappointed in myself for the former choice. Problem is, life has gotten kinda hectic for me. The good news is, I have my own computer now, along with some free time after graduating. While I wait for the various employers I've sent applications to to reply, I'll hunker down and spew out a few chapters.

There will be changes, such as me starting during the Wave Arc instead graduation, because that essentially stays the same, all the way up to the Zabuza Arc, with these changes:

1. Naruto did not try to unseal and transfer Kyuubi. After taking a closer look at the sealing matrix used, I realized that would have still killed him instead of tearing Kyuubi apart. Plus, after examination, this was an attempt to God-mode him WAY too fast.

2. Naruto did not perform the horizontal tango with Hinata and Sakura, at least, not yet. I realized that that was going WAY too fast, so instead, he and Hinata are in the meet-and-greet phase, while he and Sakura are still the frenemies they are in Canon.

3. Summons have been changed. I'll think you might be interested what I do here.

4. There was also a letter from Kushina, along with Minato's. That letter brings... complications here.

5. Personalities will be more real; there is no way in hell that Naruto would come out as the happy idiot he's portrayed as after years of neglect. Likewise for Hinata and the stutter she carries, and various others. This does not mean that personalities will be doing a 180, just that a nice cold glass of realism will exist.

That being said, on with the show.

Blah Human dialogue

Blah Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 1: The Remainder

A blonde in a blue jumpsuit stormed through the forest, a surly frown on his face. He had just had to listen to some little emo brat whine and dine on how he and his village were the only one's suffering at the hands of a madman.

Uzumaki Naruto snorted. "That little brat's got the nerve to claim that he's suffering? He's doesn't know suffering," he muttered, glaring down at his stomach.

It was a month or so ago when he found out that at his birth, the dread Kyuubi no Kitsune that attacked Konoha was sealed into his stomach. It was all so clear, why everyone sans a few glared at him with such hate. Why every so often, random shinobi would attack him when he was younger. Why most places in Konoha refused to admit him. Why parents turned their offspring against him.

Well, he would show them. He persevered through it all, and was aware of everything; his burden, and his heritage. The last son of two powerful clans, the extinct Tenmuujin (now the Namikaze) clan, and the essentially forgotten Uzumaki clan.

Flashback

That was close," said Uzumaki Naruto, as he sat and unfurled the scroll. This was the Scroll of Sealing, a scroll that had all sorts of Kage-level jutsu within it. Naruto had been told by his sensei Mizuki to retrieve the scroll and learn a jutsu from it as extra credit, then Iruka-sensei would pass him, for Naruto had failed his third Genin Exam in a row. Having successfully stolen the forbidden scroll, he began to indulge in the fruit of his labor.

"Let's get started…" he mused, looking over the scroll. "Kage Bunshin?" he muttered. "That looks interesting…" Moving on, he saw a bunch of other jutsu. In a moment of insight, he retrieved a blank scroll from the pouch on his back, and began copying down jutsu.

When he got to something called "Shishou Fuujin", he saw a spiral below it. 'Hmm… is that a seal of sorts?' Struggling to remember what Iruka-sensei had taught him about seals, he faintly remembered that some needed blood to open. Biting his thumb, he rubbed the blood across the seal, and in a puff of smoke, another scroll appeared.

"What the… why does this have my name on it?" said Naruto, squinting his eyes. Deciding to review it later, he put it in his pouch and got to work on learning Kage Bunshin.

Of course, hours after he set to work, and right after he finished learning the difficult Jutsu, Iruka showed up. In summary, Iruka got pissed, yelled at him over the scroll, Naruto mentioned Mizuki, Mizuki showed up after throwing a Fuuma Shuriken, taunted him and Iruka, and revealed to Naruto why he was hated.

"You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!" he roared, grinning madly while reaching behind himself. "And when I kill you, I'll be the Hero of Konoha!"

Naruto was dumbstruck. It was all so clear now... the hatred of the villagers, and why he was beaten to near death on his own birthdays. Faintly hearing Mizuki yell how even Iruka hated him because of his parents' deaths, he just stood there as Mizuki threw one of his overly large shuriken at him.

When he felt blood hit his face, he snapped out of his stupor to see that Iruka had taken the shuriken in the back. "… Why?" he croaked out.

"Because," Iruka said, tears streaming down his face, "you're just like me. It must have been hard, hiding all that pain… but I can't hate you, not you…"

Falling to the side, Iruka rolled onto his seat to pull the shuriken out of his back. Mizuki rushed him, yelling, "Fine, demon-lover! I'll just kill you both and take the scroll for myself-!" He was cut off by a knee to the face.

Iruka was now feeling massive amounts of pain, and unable to help. "Naruto, run! Get away! Protect the scroll with your life!"

Naruto stood the scroll on end, and said, "But the comrades come first… isn't that what you taught us, Iruka-sensei?"

By this time, Mizuki had recovered and stood. "Comrades!? Pfftt, you're just like me, demon-brat! You have all that power, and…"

"Shut up," said Naruto, glaring at Mizuki while putting his hands in a cross-shaped seal. "You hurt Iruka-sensei, and I'll return his pain to you one thousand-fold."

"Come on, Kyuubi! Let's dance!" yelled Mizuki, pulling another large shuriken, and he immediately wished he hadn't said that.

Surrounding the area were at least a thousand Naruto's. Courtesy of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

Both Iruka and Mizuki were gob-smacked. Iruka thought, "He mastered a S-Ranked Ninjutsu…" Mizuki turned his head, scared out of his wits. "What… how… what the…?"

The lead Naruto grinned and said, "If you're done pissing, it's time for your ass-kicking!"

The forest was then introduced to Mizuki's wails.

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Many moments later found Naruto at his little apartment, placing his new Hitai-ate on his dresser, and looking over the various jutsu he had copied. It was then that he remembered the other scroll, and pulled it out. He saw another seal on it, and biting his thumb once more, rubbed it over the seal. He then read the scroll.

_To Uzumaki Naruto_

_If you are reading this, then all has gone as planned. Naruto, you may not know me, but I know you. My name is Namikaze Minato, but I am known as Yondaime Hokage. You are my only son and heir, and I hope you can forgive me for what I'm about to do._

_My son, it is with a heavy heart that I do this, but too many have died already, and no more need to. The Kyuubi no Kitsune is attacking, and I intend to make it so that it can't hurt anyone else. So, I am forced to seal it with you, my son._

_You may hate me for this, but I am out of options. You are the only chance our village has for survival, and your mother - my beloved wife Kushina - may not survive the night, but I can at least make sure that you can. If I could, I would seal it elsewhere, but I cannot. You are the only one able to hold it. With the jutsu I made, the Kyuubi will be locked away, but I will be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice._

_The Kyuubi approaches, so I must end here. You are the last of our mighty clan, and you will be in constant danger because of it. Our clan information is below, so please, keep it to yourself, at least until you can defend yourself. I hope that you will be seen as a hero, but a nagging feeling says otherwise._

_Once more, I am sorry for this, and I love you with all my heart._

_Your loving father,_

_Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage_

When Naruto finished reading it, he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Baka," he murmured. "A part of me hates you for putting me through hell. But you did it to save me, and everyone else…" he frowned, hugging to scroll to his chest. "I don't know if I can forgive you for now... but maybe I can in time... Minato- san…"

Wiping away his tears, he looked to see two more seals. Unsealing the first, out popped a scroll roughly half his size, and he unfurled it to read it.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_If you are reading this, then our legacy lives on. You, reader, are the last of our clan, the Tenmuujin Clan. We were among the most powerful shinobi in the Elemental Countries, at their making. This was due to our doujutsu, the Reinogan. With it, we were nigh unstoppable._

_Unfortunately, due to unknown reasons, our clan produced mainly females; for every 3 female Tenmuujin, there was 1 male. And our clan started dying off, also due to unknown reasons, so those of us left relocated to Mizu no Kuni._

_But then, the First Bloodline War came, and we were nearly annihilated. There were roughly twelve of us then, and by the time we made it to Hi no Kuni, that number was reduced by half. To protect our identities, we changed our names to Namikaze, and have remained here in Konohagakure for fifty years._

Naruto lowered his head. He had a family, but they were all dead… killed in the Kyuubi attack. He narrowed his eyes, that Kyuubi was the reason he had no family. But since he had his father's techniques, he would find some way to make it suffer. Shaking his head, head moved on.

_Reinogan:_

_To activate, the user has to mold chakra in their eyes, and it will activate. Upon activation, the first level is already accessible. It is possible to use two levels at once, but it will take more chakra to keep the eyes on._

Naruto closed his eyes, took a deep breath, put his hands in the Ram Seal, and opened them. His vision was a bit sharpened, so he got up and looked in his mirror, and there his eyes widened.

His eyes had turned a shimmering orange, and he had no pupil. He could also see a small black triangle at the top of his iris. Grinning, he went back to his scroll.

_The Reinogan has five levels. When the Reinogan is in use, the user's eyes will lose the pupils, and will glow a specific color for each level, and have a small triangle to represent each level. Once all five levels are unlocked, the user will possess five triangles going around the iris, forming an apparant pentagon. However, to unlock each level, certain conditions must be met, and no levels can be skipped. When the user wants to use a specific level, they must say "Reinogan no Tomoe: ...", then the level/power name. To activate a specific ability, they must say either "Ichi" or "Ni" (when applicable)._

"Sweet," said Naruto, and he looked down further to see what he had gained.

_Tomoe 1 - Kanchi (Perception)_

_Level 1 allows the user to see all details, to the point of being able to duplicate anything being done before them. The user can also see up to a maximum of 1.5 miles away. Level 2 allows the user X-Ray vision, and they act similar to the Byakugan of the Hyuuga Clan in this aspect, from seeing Tenketsu to seeing foreign objects in the body. "Kanchi" is obtained when the user first activates their doujutsu. When in use, the user's eyes glow orange with one black triangle. On a side note, to use Level 1 and 2 at the same time requires the user to say "San"._

Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Going outside and jumping to the roof of his apartment, he decided to test it out. Looking towards the Hokage Monument, he said "Reinogan no Tomoe: Kanchi Ni!" Immediately, he could see the monument close-up, and he could see each of the Kage's faces in clear detail.

Grinning, he jumped down, and went back inside. He went back to the scroll to see what was next.

_Tomoe 2 - Kanetsu (Heat)_

_Level 1 allows the user to see any heat given off, from fire to body heat. Level 2 allows the user to see any chakra, from residue to being produced. "Kanetsu" is obtained when the user has increased their natural eyesight by at least 50. When in use, the user's eyes glow yellow with two black triangles._

"Damn, how am I supposed to do that," he said. Thinking, he then decided to go see the Hokage later on.

That decided, he turned his attention to the other scroll. He had a sneaking suspicion about who it was from, and hoping against hope, he read it.

_My beautiful child, Naruto,_

_I am Uzumaki Kushina, and I am your mother. I wish I could be there to watch you grow into a weapon of righteousness. I do not mean to say that you are a tool, far from it. We shinobi are the weapons of our villages, to protect and serve. I protected and served the world by being the second Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I keep the world safe from its hate, and when you are born, you may become the new Jinchuuriki. There can be no others, for our clan, the Uzumaki, are the only ones able to contain its power and rage._

_If you are reading this, then I have died protecting you. I hope you can forgive me for not being able to be there for you, my son._

_There is a book, my son, being held in trust with my best friend, Uchiha Mikoto. After you read this, go to her, and tell her "She loves you, Miko-chan." She will know what it means._

_Within this book lies the teachings of our great clan, the Uzumaki of Uzushiogakure. We are the pinnacle of human evolution, with large chakra reserves and a regenerative process resulting with long life. We also have a special chakra that manifests itself differently amongst the clan members; Mito-sama, my kinswoman, was a great Sensor, and I possessed Chakra Chains. I know not what you will have, but I am sure it will befit the nobility of our family._

_Our line has ruled our village, and from the shadows of the great villages with wisdom, skill, and strength; masters of ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and fuuin jutsu.__But even with these gifts, we are still mortal. We can still die. _

_I am dying even now, because of the Kyuubi being torn from me by the masked man. Beware the masked man, for he will stop at nothing to gain the Kyuubi and abuse it's power._

_I am sorry your father and I cannot be there with you, but I will know that you will be strong and survive. We Uzumaki are survivors, and there are more out there in the world. The book will explain._

_Grow up strong, and marry a girl who loves you for you, Kyuubi and all. And know that we will watch over you in the afterlife._

_Love,_

_Uzumaki Kushina_

_Mom_

This was heart-wrenching. The tears that he had just wiped streamed down his face. He swore long ago not to cry, for crying did nothing. But this...

He knew his parents. He had them, and lost them on the night of his birth. The memory was there, somewhere, but it was lost to him for now. He sniffled, then pulled himself into bed. Sleep now, and plan tomorrow.

And he would plan; oh, how those plans would bring about great joy to him and misery to his enemies.

As he slept, a certain entity watched. It saw that Naruto was at a crossroads, and decided that a little push was in order. It decided that it would cause a small amount of misery to the boy, and grinned. This particular bit of misery was tied to the boy's bloodline, and it would prove to be a great source of amusement in the future.

It was only right. It actually tolerated those noble savages descended from the Great One, and this particular savage would prove to be an endless source of amusement and chaos.

End Flashback

Reminiscing about recent events was cooling his temper, so as he walked, he thought about how that night brought about changes, changes that he both liked and held reservations about.

Flashback

Naruto woke up, and immediately knew something was different. It wasn't like he could actively see it, more like... it was just there.

Grumbling expletives at the sun, he dragged himself into the shower. Moments later, and more awake, he realized what it was. In the mirror, he noticed that his hair had gone red at the temples. Like the people in their 40s and 50s, except... his was red instead of grey. Furthermore, he could smell better; he could smell the ramen he had last night, the sweat in his bed, and even the expired milk in the fridge.

"This is going to be... different," he muttered. He picked out a new outfit he had bought recently. It was a navy blue jumpsuit, with the coat open revealing an ash-gray netted shirt, with a strange pattern on the stomach; a red spiral surround by five triangles. On the shoulders of the jacket were ash-gray patches with the Kanji for "Wind" in black. The netted shirt revealed a lithe set of muscles, although that wasn't uncommon for the other young shinobi. Lastly, he tied the Tenmuujin scroll to his back.

On his way to the academy, he noticed how the people avoided him and glared at him from a distance. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have bothered him, but now...

"I'm the reason they're alive, and they have the nerve to treat me like the bloody fox? I guess it's true what they say; people are dumb, panicky dangerous animals," he muttered, his annoyance rising and evolving into a slow simmering of anger. "You'd think they'd have the sense to not piss me off..." he cast a glare at a couple, a shinobi and his civilian girlfriend, and they actually flinched. He shook his head and kept walking.

A few minutes later, Naruto showed up at the academy at the appointed time in his new attire, and his arrival caught everyone in the room by surprise, and the first to recover was one Hyuuga Hinata, who had harbored a deep affection (cough, LOVE, cough) for Naruto; she blushed deeply, her eyes rolled up, and she fainted.

Naruto was snickering at the gaping new Genin, and then he noticed an enticing smell. 'Where's that coming from?' he thought to himself, then was brought out of his thoughts by someone asking. "What the hell are you doing here, Naruto? This is for graduates only!"

Pointing at his hitai-ate, he grinned and said, "Need I say more?" With that, he made his way up to a seat, but that smell came back. 'Smell's like honey,' he thought, and decided to follow his nose. Eventually, he came to Hinata. "Hinata-chan?" he said, poking her gently. "You okay?"

Hinata's eyes fluttered and she opened to see Naruto mere inches from her face. She reddened and tried her best not to faint. "Ha-Hai, N-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto nodded and sat one seat down, next to Sasuke. He then smelled dog, and rolled his eyes. "What, Kiba?"

Inuzuka Kiba glared down at Naruto, while his pet and partner Akamaru whimpered and tried to get his master to avoid Naruto. "What's with that hair, dobe? And that outfit? And that scroll?"

Sasuke wanted to know that as well, but he was too proud to ask.

Naruto grinned. "In order; I woke up like this, the winds of change blew last night and demanded a new outfit, and the scroll is my clan scroll."

That caused a number of people to think. A clan? But Naruto was an orphan…

Their thoughts were interrupted by Iruka, who came in. "Well, now that everyone's here, we can get started." Pulling out a clipboard, he faced the students. "Starting today, you are all Genin. But the hard part has just started. You'll be assigned to three-man teams, and each team will have one Jounin-sensei. The teams are balanced like so… the best in class, the worst in class, and one to balance them out. When you're assigned certain duties to the village, you'll follow your Jounin-sensei's instructions."

'Pft,' thought Sasuke. 'Three-man teams… more people to get in my way.'

'I think I'd might want to be with Sakura-chan,' thought Naruto, his arm supporting his scroll. 'Then… anyone else, except for Sasuke and Kiba.'

"Team 7… Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura…"

(In that order) "Yatta!" "Damn…"

"… and Uchiha Sasuke."

"Damn…" "Yatta!"

Naruto didn't bother raising a stink about Sasuke, so he just decided to bear with it.

"Team 8… Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino."

Naruto felt somewhat sorry for Hinata, so he turned and gave her a thumbs-up, to help her confidence. She blushed and looked in her lap. 'There's that smell again,' he thought. 'Why is there a honey smell coming from Hinata?'

(We all know the rest of the teams.)

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Naruto looked out the door for the tenth time. "Where is that guy?" he said aloud.

"Naruto, stay still! He'll get here when he gets here," said Sakura.

"Well, since he's late…" said Naruto, placing an eraser on the door frame.

"Naruto…"

"What?" he shrugged at Sakura. "If he's a Jounin, then he should be able to avoid it."

Right after he said that, the door opened, and the eraser fell on the head of a silver-haired mask-wearing Jounin with his hitai-ate going over his left eye.

"Speak of the devil," said Naruto, squinting. 'He smells like dog, too…'

'This guy is supposed to teach us?' thought Sasuke.

"Hmm…" said the Jounin, rubbing his masked chin. "My first impression is… you're a bunch of idiots."

Afterwards, all four met on the roof. "Okay," said the Jounin, "let's do some introductions. You know, likes, dislikes… those things."

"You first," said Naruto, holding his scroll in one arm. "We don't know anything about you."

"Oh… me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys my likes and dislikes. I have lots of hobbies. Dreams for the future…?"

"All we learned…" began Naruto.

"…was his name." finished Sakura.

"All right," said Kakashi, pointing at Naruto. "You first, scroll boy."

Squinting his eyes and grinning, Naruto started. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like many things, like Instant Ramen and Training. I dislike many things, like the 3 minutes it takes for Ramen to cook, and idiots. Also Emos, can't forget those whiny little bastards. Dreams for the future… I have many, but first to rebuild my clan and become Hokage! My hobbies are training, pranking, and gardening."

Kakashi nodded, while inwardly thinking, 'This is something new…' "You next, chicken head."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, and said. "Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have a lot of likes, and I have plenty of dislikes. I don't use the word dream… but I have an ambition: To resurrect my clan, protect my mother Mikoto, and kill a certain man."

'A copycat and avenger… why am I not surprised?' thought Kakashi. "You're up pinky."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like…" she looked over at Sasuke and giggled. "I dislike Ino-pig and Naruto! Dreams for the future?" She looked off into space and giggled. "My hobby…"

"That's enough," said Kakashi, holding up a hand. "Okay, we'll start our duties tomorrow."

"Sweet," said Naruto. "What kind?"

"First, the four of us are gonna do Survival Training. But this isn't regular training. It'll be you three against me." Here he chuckled. "But…"

"But what?" asked Sakura.

"This test has a failure rate of 66%. Anyone who fails gets sent back to the Academy," said Kakashi, his visible eye in an upside U, indicating a smile.

The three Genin were gob-smacked, and Naruto was the first to recover. "So, what was the point of graduating!?"

"That was a Genin Selection Process, seeing who were the most desirable candidates for the rank of Genin. Anyway, you'll be graded on the field. By the way, don't eat tomorrow morning, you'll throw up." Handing them papers, he said, "The details are on the paper. Don't be late." With that, he poofed away.

End Flashback

Of course, they succeeded in passing the bell test, through Kakashi's grace, having figured out that it was teamwork that was needed in the end. Two weeks into the completion of the final test, he saw Hinata walking alone one day, and took a chance.

Flashback

Having just dealt with walking the Inuzuka dogs, who he was sure were out to make him miserable, Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief having completed the team objectives for the day. Now it was time to get some well-deserved Ramen. On the way, he noticed Hinata walking alone a few feet in front of him. Ordinarily, this would not have drawn his attention, but she seemed... sad somehow. Dense that he may be, he at least knew that that wasn't right.

"Oi, Hinata-chan!" he called out.

Hinata turned around, and immediately stiffened, reddening like a tomato. "N-Naruto-kun!"

"Wanna catch something to eat? My treat," he offered, thinking it was the right thing to do.

Poor dense, fool.

Hinata, her mind going a mile a minute, shakily nodded her head, and yelped when Naruto grabbed her hand, grinning like a child,

The next moment found them at Ichiraku Ramen, with Naruto ordering his standard seven bowls and Hinata ordering one. Naruto had breezed through three of them before noticing Hinata picking at hers. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Hinata started. "N-Nani?"

"You seem sad. I'm willing to listen."

Uncharacteristically, he blush faded, and her eyes fell. "It's n-nothing."

Naruto was quiet, then yelled out, "Ayame-chan, can I get these to go?" When the ramen was wrapped and packed, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and said, "Come with me, I've got something to show you."

Ayame watched the two disappear and giggled. "How cute is that?"

"It'll be less cute if Hiashi finds out," said her father, Teuchi, followed by a yelp as Ayame smacked him with a newspaper, saying "Be nice!".

Moments later, Naruto and Hinata sat on the Hokage Monument, on the Yondaime's head, watching the sunset. Hinata was in awe. "It's beautiful."

Naruto nodded. "I come here when I want to think." He looked at her, asked, "What's bothering you?"

Hinata didn't want to say, but it came out anyway. "I-I don't want to be a burden."

Naruto frowned. "How so?"

"I-I can see it on K-Kurenai-sensei's b-body readings. I d-don't like to hurt people, s-so I try to le-lessen the hits I give." Tears starting coming out of her eyes. "I l-love my family. I hate what they've b-become, and what they're turning Hanabi-chan into."

"Is she your sister?"

"Yes. I don't want to hurt her, so I hold back, and let her win. F-Father doesn't see it, Hanabi-chan doesn't see it, only a few B-Branch members see it."

"Branch...?"

Hinata sighed, her heart breaking more. "O-Our family is divided. There's the M-Main Family and the Branch Family. The Branch Family protects the Main Family, but they are cursed."

"Cursed? How?"

"There is a seal, placed on their heads, to protect the Byakugan. But the Main Family uses it to inflict pain."

Naruto might not be highly intelligent, but he knew enough to about the world to draw appropriate conclusions, and prior to all this, had started on working on getting smarter. From what he was hearing, the family was divided and one part was basically enslaved. "That's wrong," he growled. "Why doesn't the whole family have the seal then, if the Byakugan is so important?"

"B-Because that is the way of the Hyuuga," she sighed. "A large number protecting the privileged few... the M-Main Family runs the clan, and the Branch Family protects it. The Branch Family does most of the missions outside of the village, and if they are captured, then they seal the Byakugan... through death."

"So what's to stop someone from taking the Byakugan from a living Hyuuga? Just sit there, and carve it out and preserve it while the Hyuuga's still alive?"

Upon seeing Hinata pale, Naruto realized that he might have said the wrong thing, but Hinata latched onto him and started crying. "Useless..." she muttered. "It's all useless..."

Naruto, not sure on what to do, just stroked her back until she calmed.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"D-don't be," she answered. "You've helped me m-more than you know."

End Flashback

Naruto let off a small smile at that memory. After that, he took her home. On the way, they talked, and she slowly began building herself up. Lost in his thoughts, he was surprised to hear a BOOM. He muttered "Reinogan no Tomoe: Kanetsu Ichi (1)," activating his Kekkai, and seeing a flare of heat in the distance.

He was grateful that he was able to keep it hidden so far, because he wasn't sure if he could go without using while his team was about. Thing was, he knew it would come out at some point, and he would not be happy with that conversation. About the only thing about this blasted mission that was okay in that regards was that he was able to get two Jutsu out of it, namely the Suiryuudan and Daibakufu, and the best part was that it was all thanks to the Kage Bunshin. But first things first...

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Kakashi, having just explained the reason for Naruto's reaction as "classified" while stating to look out for incoming reinforcements from Konoha, found Inari sitting on the balcony of his house, looking at the ocean under the moon.

"Can I join you?" asked Kakashi, who appeared behind him. When Inari didn't answer, Kakashi assumed implied consent, and sat next to him. "You know, Naruto didn't mean any harm by what he said," he started. "Sometimes, he just goes off without thinking, but he's generally a good person."

Gazing at the ocean, Kakashi droned on. "Tazuna-san told us about Kaiza… thing is, Naruto grew up without his father, just like you. Actually, you have it better off than he did." At Inari's confused look, Kakashi moved on. "Naruto grew up not knowing his parents, and before he came onto Team 7, he's never had a friend. But he strove through it, to prove to everyone what a good shinobi he can be. He probably got sick of crying, and he probably knows what it means to be strong, just like your father."

He and Inari jumped at the sound of a loud BOOM. Kakashi was through the house and his remaining students, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura appeared. "What was that!?" shrieked Sakura. "Are we under attack?"

"Don't bother," said Tazuna, shaking his head. "That sounded like one of Gatou's patrol boats."

"That cannonshot?"

"Yes, Gatou has cannons," said Tazuna. "Whatever poor soul was caught by his goons just bit it."

"That explains what was going on when we got here," said Sasuke. "You didn't want to be blown out of the water." He frowned. "Shouldn't someone get the dobe?"

"If I know Naruto, he's already on his way back," said Sakura. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to draw attention to himself in a hostile region."

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Naruto, having run toward the sound of the explosion, watched wide-eyed behind some bushes as a man who looked like a skeleton wearing black hakama pants, a black headdress, and wielding a long sword and a short sword limped towards a bloody man wearing broken armor over black pants. The skeleton man had silver hair to his shoulders, but it looked like some of it burned off in the back, and a necklace around his neck that had an upside-down triangle in a circle. He gazed at his opponent with wild crimson eyes and a mad smile.

"You are nothing, heathen!" he howled. "Nothing but a lump of flesh! As I said before, you will be a perfect blood sacrifice to Jashin-sama!" He was forced to use his longer sword as a cane, on account of his right leg below the knee having been blown off.

His opponent had faded orange hair, gray eyes, and a couple of wrinkles. He was also missing the left side of his armor, his left arm looked like it had been mangled, and blood was practically gushing from his mouth. He spat out a glob, and growled, "By the grace of the Creator, with the one true God as my witness, you will not walk away from this fight, heretic!"

"A broken record! That's what you are!" roared the Jashinist. He stood in front of his enemy, and raised his short sword. "Now die!"

Naruto knew he had to do something. It was poor form to interfere in someone else's fight, true, but even less so to sit back and let the old man die. What kind of person was he to do that?

The Jashinist grinned, blood streaming from his mouth. It was a quark of his, to instigate the ritual, inflict damage, then finish off the sacrifice up close and personal. He'd done it many times before, and he'd do so again. Problem was, this time he happened to have an unknown third party observing. The next thing he knew, he was gagging as a kunai embedded in his throat. His eyes widen as he saw the burning fuda tied to the ring, then he saw no more.

The wounded man winced as the upper part of the Jashinist blew to pieces. He shakily stood, then coughed as he dropped to one knee. "Damn heretic," he cursed. "Too many hits..." His eyes caught Naruto, and he squinted. "... Konoha?" he got out, before dropping to both knees and vomiting up a gout of blood, coughing and wheezing.

Naruto was by his side and helping him up. "Hold on, mister. I got you. Yes, I'm a Konoha-nin, and my name's Naruto."

The man turned his weary eyes to Naruto and murmured out, "...Satchel..."

Naruto looked around, and saw a brown satchel lying on some bushes. He grabbed it, then created a Kage Bunshin to help carry the man back to Tazuna's. "Hold on mister. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei can help."

The old man muttered a "Good lad," before lapsing to into wheezy breathing.

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"Are you sure that your student can handle himself?" asked Tsunami, having sent Inari to bed.

"Of course," said Kakashi. "He's been alone all his life, sad as it is. He'll come through that door, as chipper as a..."

He was cut off as the door burst open, revealing two Narutos and a bleeding old man.

Sakura shrieked, Sasuke and Kakashi pulled out kunai, Tsunami and Tazuna stared awestruck. "Enishi-san!" Tazuna said, rushing toward the old man.

"He's hurt bad," said Naruto, kicking the door closed behind him.

"You know him?" asked Kakashi.

"He lives on the outskirts of the village," said Tsunami, guiding them towards a mat on the floor. "He rarely shows up in town, and when he does, he's offers help to whoever needs it. But this is the first time I've seen him in months."

"What happened?" asked Kakashi, as he positioned Enishi.

"He was fighting some freak that looked like a skeleton," said Naruto. He helped Sakura and Tsunami remove the upper armor, and wrap Enishi's wounds with torn clothes rags, and kept talking. "The skeleton guy was going on and on about how he was gonna sacrifice Enishi, and how Jashin would like him as..."

"A sacrifice," finished Kakashi, frowning. "Where is he now?"

"All over the clearing they were fighting in."

"Sensei, do you know who that was?" asked Sakura.

"No," said Kakashi, as he created a Kage Bunshin. "Sterilize the area," he ordered. The Bunshin saluted as was out the door.

"What-?"

"That guy was a Jashinist," said Kakashi to Sakura's attempted question. "They are a group of cultists that were once based in Yugakure (2), but were expelled for their practices. They pay tribute to a being called Jashin, who they worshipped as a god of violence and bloodshed."

"... Damn heretic..." wheezed Enishi. He gazed at the group. "... my satchel... where is it...?"

Naruto held it over, and Enishi reached into it. He pulled out a chest, and opened it to reveal two items: a tanned ragged square with a strange symbol consisting of a spiral ending in a large triangular point at the outer end, and a short kusarigama emerging from the midsection below the point; and a two-inch long medallion that looked like an arrow-headed serpent wound around a pillar. "Give me your arm, Naruto-san..."

Naturally suspicious, Naruto was about to ask why, but the choice was taken out of his hand, as Enishi grabbed his left arm, pushing up the sleeve, and slapped the tan square onto his exposed flesh.

"Fuuin Jutsu: Niku Yuugou (3)" he muttered, and a glow encompassed the covered area.

It hurt like hell to Naruto, and he let out a sharp yelp and tried to pull away, but the old man was deceptively strong. Kakashi clasped the wrist of Enishi, but the old man suddenly let go. "What did you do to him!?" he growled.

"A gift," Enishi rasped. "I wish... I could have passed... it to an elder... but I'm out of time..." he raised the medallion. "Take care... of this... lest you lose yourself... to them..."

Clutching the angry flesh, Naruto growled out "To who?"

Evidently, Enishi did not hear him. "You are... the only one... nearby... who can be trusted... but you... will need... protection..."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why him? And protection from what?"

Enishi's breathing began to slow. "Search the Eastern shore... of Hi no Kuni... seek out the tainted one... he will answer to Daikani (4)... He will protect you... and you will... make them remember..."

Now Naruto was curious, but felt uneasy. "Remember what?"

Enishi looked Naruto in the eye. "They have forgotten us... but you will make them remember us... our clan... the Uzumaki clan..."

The shinobi stiffened, and Naruto went pale. This old man, this stranger that had just branded him with a strange symbol, was family?

Kakashi realized that this was a chance for Naruto to gain and maintain some familial ties, and tried to use what little Medical Ninjutsu he knew. His hand glowing, he ran it over Enishi's chest, but the old man gasped out "We... will... endure... we... will... survive..." and went still, his eyes closing.

Sakura reached a trembling hand toward Enishi's carotid artery, then withdrew it. "No pulse," she whispered.

Everyone gazed down at the dead body of the recently revealed Uzumaki. In a cruel twist of fate, Naruto had gained a family member, and then lost him in a matter of minutes.

Enishi's body began to twitch, causing everyone to back up. His veins appeared, blackened as if by necrosis, and his flesh began to constrict, until his body looked like a clothed fleshy skeleton. Then the flesh peeled and fell, revealing the skeleton beneath.

Sakura and Tsunami both ran out of the room, and the sounds of vomiting were heard. Tazuna, Naruto, and Sasuke were both pale and shaking. Kakashi, slightly pale, sighed and gently, reverently, picked up the cloth-covered skeleton that used to be Uzumaki Enishi, and carried it outside.

Naruto followed him, in silence, followed by Sasuke. Kakashi found a nearby tree, and laid the skeleton against it. Naruto created a Kage Bunshin, and it transformed into a shovel. He dug, until he made a moderate-sized pit, whereupon Kakashi laid the bones of Enishi to rest.

"I'm sorry for your loss." That did not come from Kakashi, strangely. It was from Sasuke.

"You-"

"I know how it feels to lose family, obviously," said the Uchiha. "The only ones alive now are me, my mother, and... him."

Kakashi nodded. Uchiha Mikoto had barely survived the sword strike in the chest, and was fading by the time she was found. It was touch and go for a while, but she pulled through.

That remark from Sasuke reminded Naruto to go see the Uchiha widow when they got back. They had been doing so many D-Ranks that he hadn't had the time to go see her.

The three walked back in silence, and when they arrived at Tazuna's home, the reinforcements arrived as well, in the form of Team 8.

"Kakashi," nodded Yuuhi Kurenai.

"Kurenai."

"What's the matter?" laughed Kiba "Couldn't handle an easy-ass C-Rank?"

"K-Kiba-kun..."

"The mission was upgraded to a low B-Rank, remember?" responded Aburame Shino, his teammate.

"Actually, it's an A-Rank," said Kakashi, motioning them inside.

Kurenai raised her eyebrows as she and the others entered Tazuna's home. "How the HELL did that happen?"

"A little interference from Momochi Zabuza."

Kurenai let out a sigh. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," said Kakashi. "A Jashinist was in the area, but Naruto blew him to kingdom come, mainly because said Jashinist was distracted..."

"By what?"

"By my relative," muttered Naruto.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Finally, Shino spoke. "I was unaware you had relations here."

"I didn't know either," said Naruto. "I didn't know until he told me, and died in front of us."

Kiba winced. "That's harsh. But why was he here? And what was his name?"

Naruto frowned. "Uzumaki Enishi. And he was looking for more of us." He stood up, and marching to one of the guest rooms.

Hinata made to follow, but Kakashi stopped her. "Let him go."

"B-but..."

"He's needs some time alone," said Kakashi. "He'll be fine."

"But what's this about the Uzumaki?" asked Kiba. "And how come we've never heard of them."

"Later," said Kakashi. "I'll tell you later."

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The next morning, Kakashi, Kurenai, Tazuna, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Hinata, and Sasuke left Tazuna's house. Naruto was inside sleeping, having not shown his face for several hours. "T-Take care of Naruto-kun," said Hinata.

"Let's super special awesome go," said Tazuna enthusiastically.

"Please don't say that…"

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At the bottom of the bridge, Zabuza and Haku with her Hunter-nin mask on gazed impassively, ignoring the squawking radio that spewed Gatou's voice. "You ready, Haku?" asked Zabuza.

"Hai," she said.

"One thing Haku," said Zabuza. "That boy… Uzumaki Naruto… watch out for him. Out of those four… he and Kakashi are the most dangerous."

"How so?" she asked, confused.

"If my hunch is correct," said Zabuza, "then if that Uzumaki kid knows about his heritage, he's well within his rights to kill any Kiri-nin or Iwa-nin he comes across."

Said Uzumaki was frantically getting dressed. Kakashi had left him a note saying to meet them at the bridge. As an afterthought, he eyed the medallion on the nightstand he had placed it on, and put it on. As he left Tazuna's house, he saw a bush rustle. "Hmm?"

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"Would you please stop saying 'Super Special Awesome', Tazuna-san?" said Sakura irritably to Tazuna, who had said it yet again. "It's stopped being funny a while ago…"

Tazuna, ignoring Sakura's bashing of his new catch-phrase, gaped at the five wounded workers lying on the bridge. "What the hell happened!?" he asked frantically, and stiffened when the worker gasped out, "A monster…" And then, the mist rolled in.

"Oh hell," muttered Kakashi. "On point!" he said sharply. "This is it… They're here."

"Kirigakure no jutsu," said Sakura under her breath.

"Long time no see, Kakashi," came Zabuza's voice through the mist. "I see you're still with those brats… and you've brought company. The Genjutsu Mistress and some more brats. And look at them, they're shaking in their boots."

As the mist cleared, there were eight Zabuza's around the eight. "I'm trembling…" said Sasuke, grinning, "… with excitement!" On Kakashi's orders, Sasuke moved with the speed of a tiger and slashed through the Zabuza's, and they dropped to the ground in splashes of water.

Some yards away, the real Zabuza and Haku appeared. "Looks like the brat's grown," said Zabuza, now wearing a black muscle shirt, black pants, and striped arm and leg warmers. "Looks like you have a rival now, eh, Haku?"

"Indeed," said she.

"Looks like I was right," said Kakashi. "That masked guy was Zabuza's comrade…"

"This just got harder," said Kurenai. "An A-Rank Nuke-nin and an unknown..."

"I'll fight him," said Kiba, stepping forward.

"No, I will," said Sasuke. "Tricking us with that stupid act… I hate bastards like that…"

"Impressive," said Haku, gazing impassively at Sasuke. "even if the Mizu Bunshin have 1/10 the strength of the original… still, impressive…"

With that, she disappeared and reappeared in front of Sasuke and lashed out. 'Fast!' thought Sasuke as he parried her blow.

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Back at Tazuna's house, Waraji and Zouri, two of Gatou's goons, had broken in and cornered Tsunami. Inari came running at his mother's scream, and saw the two samurai. "Mom!"

"Run Inari!" yelled Tsunami. "Go and get help!"

"Gatou said to get the women… Should we take the brat, too?" asked Waraji, and Zouri answered, "We only need one hostage." "Ah," said Waraji, pulling his sword. "Then maybe the brat needs to go…"

"Wait!" said Tsunami frantically. "Lay one finger on the boy, and I'll bite my tongue and kill myself! You need a hostage, take me instead!"

"Fine," said Zouri. "Thank your mom, kid…"

Inari crouched behind the wall and cried to himself. He wanted to help his mother, but he didn't want to die. Then, Kakashi's voice appeared in his head. Then Kaiza's, and his family. "I'm gonna be strong," he said, standing. "I WILL be strong!"

Outside, Tsunami walked in front of Zouri and Waraji; the latter stroking Tsunami's skin while saying, "Hehe… such pretty skin… gives me ideas, no?" Zouri groaned and said, "Walk faster woman. Waraji, you can slake your lust later…"

"WAIT!"

Waraji, Zouri, and Tsunami turned around to see Inari running at them, yelling, "Let go of my mom!" "Cut him," said Zouri, drawing his sword. "Finally," said Waraji, drawing his as well. The two rushed the small child, ignoring Tsunami's cries, and slashed.

Instead of Inari, they cut a log with his hat on it. Hearing a chuckle, they turned around to see Naruto with Inari on his shoulder. They prepared to charge him, when they heard a voice behind them say, "Hey guys!" Spinning around, they saw a evilly grinning Naruto, and then all went black as they got the crap beaten out of them by Kage Bunshin.

"Thanks for your help, Inari," said Naruto as his Bunshins tied up the two samurai. "You've grown, and that's what counts. Kazai-san was right, and you're proof right now." Looking at the two tied-up samurai, Naruto cursed lowly. "If these guys are here, then there's trouble at the bridge." Turning to Inari, he gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Take over from here, Inari. Be a hero!" When Inari nodded and gave him a thumbs-up back, Naruto grinned and ran off, saying, "Uzumaki Naruto is on the way! Here I come to save the day!"

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CLANG! Haku and Sasuke traded blows once more. Zabuza was slightly impressed, to say the least. So was Kakashi. "Sakura," he said, moving over, "stay in front of Tazuna. Sasuke'll handle the Hunter-nin. Kurenai?"

"Shino, Hinata, guard the bridge builder," barked Kurenai. "Kiba, assist Sasuke!"

"Finally!" said Kiba. "A chance to show off my skills, right Akamaru?"

"Bark!"

Speaking of which, Haku blocked Sasuke's kunai with a senbon. "Please stand down," she said calmly. "I don't want to have to kill you."

When Sasuke said, "Don't be foolish," Haku replied "I see… but next time, you won't be able to keep up with my speed. I have two advantages… the water on the ground, and I've occupied one of your arms. Now all you can do is run," she finished, putting her free hand into half-Ram. And then, she started to do seals.

It shocked Kakashi, Kurenai, Kiba, and Sasuke. Kiba and Akamaru interfered, tackling Haku. Haku shunshined away, and completed her work.

"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suisho (5)." When she stomped on the water on the ground, it rose up like a wall, then began to freeze. When it did so, it turned into senbon made of ice, and launched at Sasuke and Kiba.

Sasuke, remembering his training, concentrated his chakra to his legs, then jumped skyward, avoiding every single shot. Kiba and Akamaru leapt to the sides, then came around the impact zone.

Sasuke fired shuriken at Haku, who jumped backwards to dodge them. He reappeared behind, and said to her, "You're pretty slow… and from now on, you're the runner." Raining blow after blow, he had Haku on the defensive.

"Don't hog all the fun!" yelled Kiba, as he activated his family's ninja art. "Ninpou: Shikayuu no Jutsu (6) !" He sped up and attacked from the left, forcing Haku on a further defense.

Zabuza couldn't believe that his loyal subordinate was losing a battle of speed. Kakashi told him so, too. "I can't have you underestimating my team, now… Sasuke's the #1 Rookie in Konoha, Sakura's one of the brightest, and Naruto… is the #1 unpredictable shinobi."

"Don't count me out Kakashi," added Kurenai. "Kiba's the fastest Genin in his year, Shino's the best Strategist, and Hinata is the most damaging overall, with the Jyuuken."

Zabuza started to chuckle. "Haku, at this rate, we'll be driven back." "I agree," she said, putting her hands in a strange seal. "We can't have that now, can we?"

Sasuke noticed the chill first, then he saw the water on the ground rise up and form into large, rectangular tiles. Then he heard, "Makyou Hyoushou (7)!" "What the hell is this?" he muttered.

"Hey, what gives!?" yelled Kiba. Akamaru was trapped on the other side, and barked at his partner. The puppy ran around to attack Haku, but Haku stepped into one of the tiles, and her image appeared in all of them. "Well?" she asked. "Shall I begin?"

Sasuke cursed. He saw Kakashi run toward them, and saw Zabuza block his path. "What's with these mirrors?" he asked himself, then he heard Haku's voice say, "Time to show you my true speed." Sasuke then found himself riddled with senbon.

Sakura, trying to help out, threw a kunai at Haku, who reached out of a mirror and caught it. A shuriken caught her eye, and she saw it cut part of Haku's mask when said Hunter-nin saw it too late. "What…?" she began, then saw the answer on the outside of the dome of mirrors.

A blast of smoke, and Naruto stood before them, his hands raised like Zabuza's as if performing the Hidden Mist Technique. "There's no need to fear," he said grinning. "Uzumaki Naruto is here!"

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Translations:

(1) Kanetsu Ichi = Heat One

(2) Yugakure = Hot Springs Village

(3) Fuuin Jutsu: Niku Yuugou = Sealing Technique: Flesh Fusion

(4) Daikani = Great Crab (This will make sense later)

(5) Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou = Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death

(6) Ninpou: Shikakyu no Jutsu = Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique

(7) Makyou Hyoushou = Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals

This is about the only time I'll translate something we've seen before. New techniques and places will have their translations, but that will be it.

Also, I would like to thank **Contramancer** for pointing out something that was barely touched on in the Manga, namely taking the Byakugan from a living Hyuuga. That's the idea for how Ao got his eye, according to his biography, thus proving the flaw of the Hyuuga Seal.

I may leave up the original **Windows of the Soul**, for a couple of weeks, but I'll end up taking it down, unless you want it up still.

Ja Ne!


	2. The Meeting

Howdy folks, Dez Guardius here. This is about the time when this starts diverging from the original. Here we get to meet Daikani and go through various other misadventures. Enjoy!

Blah Human dialogue

Blah Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 2: The Meeting

'Well, this just sucks,' thought Naruto, as he, Kiba, and Sasuke were pinned by Haku. He jumped in to try to get them out, but found out too late that they weren't able to leave.

The next problem was that Kiba had been hit with enough needles to knock him out of the fight. However, Naruto could tell that he was unconscious, not dead.

"Let's get down to business," growled Sasuke, clenching at the needles in his body. He activated his Sharingan, confident in his abilities.

"Sharingan?" Haku whispered upon seeing Sasuke's eyes. "I see," she said out loud. "You have a Kekkei Genkai as well…"

"It's go time," said Naruto as he activated Kanchi, knowing full well that it was pretty pointless to keep it hidden during this fight. He would need all the help he could get.

"Two Kekkei Genkai?" she whispered. Now things were getting out of hand.

Sasuke was understandably annoyed by this recent revelation. "What the hell, dobe!? Since when have you had a doujutsu?"

Zabuza thought so, too. "I don't recall any one _them_ having a doujutsu," he muttered. "I will have to do research later…"

Kurenai sent an annoyed look at Kakashi. "Care to explain?"

Kakashi stood in front of Tazuna. "This is news to me as well," he said, both of his eyes on Zabuza. "And what do you mean _them_?" he asked Zabuza.

"You seriously don't even remember your own allies?" said Zabuza. "Long story short, everyone has heard of the Uzumaki, but they're supposed to be extinct…"

That caught everyone by surprise. Hinata, Sakura, and Shino mused on the possibility that Naruto might be in the same situation as Sasuke, while Tazuna wondered what could have happened. Kurenai had the same thought, but Kakashi answered her unspoken question.

"I have a fair idea who Naruto's mother is, but his father..."

"Enough sentimentality," said the nuke-nin, brandishing his sword. "Time to die, you two."

"We can't die yet," said Kakashi. "And neither will our students."

"My team is a bunch of clan heirs... the next generation of their respective families," said Kurenai.

"Plus, Naruto's the last of his clan, and so is Sasuke… the last of one of Konoha's best."

"You mean…"

"Yep, Uchiha Sasuke is his name. A shinobi genius, with the blood of the Uchiha coursing through his veins."

"An offspring of that tragic clan…" muttered Zabuza. 'The same with Uzumaki…'

Meanwhile, Haku had been firing more senbon at the two. Sasuke had taken most of the damage, and Naruto was at the end of his ropes. 'I wish I could do something!' he shouted in his mind, and then he felt his eyes burn. It caused him to falter, and Haku used that chance to attack. She fired some more, and Sasuke took the blow.

"Wha… why did you take that?" asked Naruto, shocked by the fact that Sasuke did this.

"Pft…" said Sasuke, smirking slightly as blood leaked from his mouth. "I hate your guts… but my body… moved on its own…" He collapsed, and Naruto caught him. "That man…" sputtered Sasuke, as his eyes began to close. "That man I swore to kill… my brother… I told myself that I wouldn't die…" He winced as Naruto pulled out the senbon from his neck.

"You're not dying," said Naruto, his eyes now a shimmering white with three black triangles. "No ones dying, if I have my way."

Haku took this moment to merge with her mirror, but Naruto glanced at her, and uttered a single word: "Ranzatsu (1)."

Haku suddenly found herself disoriented, and she clutched her head. She felt a pulse in her head, and dropped to her knees. She lost all sense of balance, and she felt the blood rushing through her ears, the sounds of footsteps, the shattering of her mirrors… all was a cacophony of confusion.

She suddenly found herself clear, and looked up to see that Naruto had taken her mask. "What…?" she asked, confused by how he wasn't doing anything.

"Tomoe no Reinogan: Konmei," said Naruto, his shimmering white eyes turning back to his sapphire orbs. "The third Tomoe of my Kekkei Genkai… Konmei; Confusion."

Haku sat there on her knees. "Why didn't you kill me?" she asked.

"Like I said," said Naruto, "No ones dying if I could have my way. You didn't kill Sasuke or Kiba, so I didn't kill you." He motioned to his unconscious comrades.

Haku was silent, but then she stood, her head bowed. "You don't understand… now you have taken away my reason for living. Zabuza-sama has no need for weak shinobi, or a defective tool…"

"You're not a tool!" snapped Naruto. "What makes him so special anyway!?"

Haku bowed her head, and told Naruto of her history. She explained how in Mizu no Kuni, those with bloodlines were seen as monsters and tools, and civil wars in Mizu no Kuni had resulted in the deaths of nearly all the Kekkei Genkai users in Mizu no Kuni. "My mother was one of them," she said, her eyes vacant. "And when my father found out, he killed her, and then tried to kill me… but I killed him."

"Then Zabuza found you," finished Naruto, his gaze saddened. Her life was somewhat like his… unwanted, and alone.

"Hai," said Haku. "He took me as his own, and trained me to be his perfect tool. But now…" she trailed off, looking to the side. "Zabuza-sama has no need for a defective tool, so please… kill me, Naruto-kun."

Over with Zabuza and his opponents, Kurenai engaged Zabuza and had been batted away. "Useless," he growled. Her response was a flurry of hand seals, followed by an inhale of breath. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She shot a fireball twice the size of Sasuke at the Nuke-nin, while countered with his own seals, and a cry of "Suiton: Suijinheki (2)!" A wall of water rose up and surrounded Zabuza as the fireball impacted, sending up a gout of steam in the air. Zabuza jumped as the water fell, and delivered a roundhouse kick to Kurenai's side, sending the kunoichi flying.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had taken a scroll from his pouch, opened it, smeared blood on it from a wound on his chest, and closed it, holding it in his hands. "Get ready, Zabuza," he said, as he did four seals. 'Tiger, Boar, Dragon, Dog…' he then slammed the scroll into the ground, and muttered "Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu (3)!"

Around Zabuza, eight dogs leapt out of the ground and latched onto him, holding the nuke-nin in place. "Those are my Ninken," said Kakashi. "Their sense of smell exceeds that of normal dogs. They tracked my blood on your body, and now you're stuck. As I said last time… your future is death."

"Pft," said Zabuza, glaring at Kakashi. "I'd say I was worried, but that would be a lie." With that, he collapsed with a splash.

Kakashi cursed, and jumped back as Zabuza's sword slammed on the ground. "First, I'm going to take you two out," he growled. "Then I'm gonna take out the bridge builder, then I'm gonna give my buddy Ao a matching left eye to go with his right."

Another Zabuza appeared and kicked Shino away. "You hear that girly," he sneered at the quivering Hinata. "Ao's got the right eye, and you've got the left. You only need one to see."

"Over my dead body," said Shino, standing and sending four shuriken at the Mizu Bunshin. Zabuza leaned to the side, and grinned. "That's the general ideaaARGH!"

Sakura had jumped on his back and buried a kunai there, distracting him enough for Hinata to overcome her fear and deliver a Jyuuken-powered arm thrust to his chest, making him collapse in a splash of water.

Kurenai let loose with a hail of shuriken, and Zabuza blocked with his sword. When he pulled it back, Kurenai had disappeared. Suddenly, he heard cracking behind him, and a tree, a damned tree of all things, sprung up and wrapped its limbs around him.

"What the hell...?"

"Magen: Jubaku Satsu (4)," came Kurenai's voice, and she appeared above him, armed with a kunai. "Anytime, Kakashi!"

Kakashi sighed and centered his gaze on Zabuza. "For the last time, your future is death. I heard what happened with you… that bit you mentioned about Naruto's clan gave off some insight, but still… a coup 'de tat against the Mizukage?" With that, Kakashi performed the seals for his original jutsu. Ox… Hare… Monkey… at Monkey, he grabbed his wrist, and lightning began to form. "Raikiri!"

'What!?' thought Zabuza, now a little unsettled. 'Enough chakra is visible around his hand!'

Kakashi faced Zabuza. "You're a dangerous man… your ideals sacrifice others for your gain. I'll ask you once more: Surrender."

"Do your worst," spat Zabuza.

Haku saw the light, and performed a single-handed seal. "Sorry Naruto-kun," she said to the startled Naruto. "But Zabuza-sama needs me…" With that, she disappeared into a mirror.

Naruto muttered, "Tomoe no Reinogan: Kanetsu Ni." Instantly, he could see all chakra… and he saw the ball of lightning in Kakashi's hand. "Kuso!" he cursed, his body moving faster before he could think. "Haku's trying to intercept it!"

Kakashi rushed at Zabuza, but he saw a dark shape appear before him. Too late to pull back, he surged forward, thrusting his lightning-engulfed hand at Zabuza, noting that Kurenai ended her Genjutsu and was free and clear..

In a splash of blood, he saw with horror what he actually hit, as did Kurenai, who covered her mouth in horror.

Haku had reached Zabuza in time… but Naruto had shoved her out of the way, and taken the Raikiri in the shoulder. "Wha… wha…" Kakashi tried to get out the words, but Naruto grinned, despite the pain he was in.

"I… couldn't let her die," he said, as Kakashi pulled his trembling hand free from his student.

"Heh," said Zabuza, amazed by Naruto's tenacity. "Saved by my enemy's student… all for a defective tool?"

Naruto, clutching his profusely bleeding shoulder, let his healing factor take over and glared at Zabuza with, for the first time, red eyes with slitted pupils. "Don't you call her that," he said, his whiskers growing more pronounced.

'What… is he?' thought Haku.

Zabuza decided that, unknown factors or not, Uzumaki and Kakashi were going to die, quickly followed by Yuuhi Kurenai. He swiped at the two aforementioned shinobi with his sword, but Kakashi reacted faster. Mad at himself for injuring his own student, he brutally jabbed a kunai into Zabuza's left arm, while Kurenai jabbed one into his right arm, both Jounin rendering them useless.

Even so, Zabuza tried to fight back, but Kakashi held a kunai to the injured nuke-nin's throat. "You can't beat me, Zabuza… I was a former ANBU captain, and you're in no shape to take me on…"

"Well, well…" came a familiar voice.

It was Gatou, and he had brought just about all of his henchmen. "Looks like you done got your ass kicked… Zabuza."

"Gatou," growled Zabuza, in no mood for this. "What do you want? And what's with those men?"

Hinata and Sakura, who had brought the now conscious Sasuke and Kiba over, tended to Naruto and Haku. "What's going on?" asked Hinata.

Haku grimaced. "It's our employer," she said wearily, tired from using her chakra.

"Hehehe…" chuckled Gatou. "The plan's changed. At first I wasn't going to pay you, and let the Hunter-nin from Kirigakure know where you were…"

Zabuza grimaced. He knew this wasn't going to end well.

"But then I saw this fight, and thought that it'd be better to kill off you guys, and give the lovely ladies present to my men as part of a job well done."

Hinata gasped, and latched onto Naruto in fright. Haku lifted herself to her feet, and glared at the short man who dared to betray them, as the rowdy group of man behind Gatou leered at the girls.

Gatou saw her, and grinned evilly. "Actually, as punishment for breaking my arm, my men can have you as their little toy, and I'll keep the pink-haired one and the red-eyed one… After all, it's not every day that you find a girl with naturally pink hair. I find it… exotic… I'll get my fair share out of her and the nice lady, and I'm sure Kumogakure will pay a fine price for the Hyuuga."

Naruto, at this point, had had enough. He drew out two kunai, both with exploding tags, and threw them at Gatou. Due to his still-recovering injuries, he missed and hit some of the men instead, the explosion killing them. "I think you'll be deader faster than you can say, 'Shinigami'," he roared.

"I think so, too," said Zabuza, his eyes filled with rage. "Kid, gimme a kunai!"

Kiba, pissed at Gatou for his threats and himself for being taken out early, tossed him a kunai, due to Naruto being unable to at the moment, and Zabuza loosened his mouth bandages, catching it with his teeth. "Sayonara, Haku," said Zabuza, and ignoring Haku's calls for him to stop, he rushed towards his opponents.

Gatou saw him coming and ran behind the ranks of his men, ordering them to kill him. They responded enthusiastically, but as Zabuza approached, they saw his aura surrounding him. "He's a true demon!" said one, and Zabuza began to cut through them. At length, he began to slow down.

Gatou was sure that Zabuza was dead, but Zabuza proved him wrong. He appeared before Gatou, swords sticking out of his back, and stabbed the short man with the kunai. Some of Gatou's man stabbed him more in the back, but Zabuza was single-minded in his mission.

Gatou's mission, at that moment, was centered on survival. He scrambled backwards, the kunai still embedded in him, screaming raspily, "Kill him! Stab him! Tear off his head!" He was almost free, until he felt little pinpricks on him. Looking down, he saw bugs. Hundreds of bugs, crawling, scratching, biting. He screamed and squirmed, trying to get them off of him.

Shino glared at the man from a distance. "In the words of my comrades, 'Don't write checks your ass can't cash'," he said. No one was around, so no one was shocked by his coarse language.

There was one person, however, that benefited from his action. Momochi Zabuza appeared in front of the imprisoned Gatou, covered in blood and woozily standing. "Hope you like the heat," he said, his eyes now shining with madness, "because where you and I are going, it's gonna be HOT!" With that, he severed Gatou's head from his body.

His mission done, he fell to the ground, his adrenaline deflating and the damage from his wounds kicking in at last. Gatou's men stood around the dying nuke-nin, then turned to Team 7 and Haku. "You guys are dead!" one shouted. "Our meal ticket's dead!" yelled one, and another yelled "Take anything of value, starting with the lovely ladies!"

"PLUNDER!"

"PILLAGE!"

"RANSACK!"

"LOOT!"

"MURDER!"

"SEXY TIME!"

Kiba sweated. "This ain't right," he growled as he wearily stood. Akamaru growled as he joined his partner. He was joined by Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke who stood to their feet, and faced the oncoming horde. "Damn," cursed Sasuke, still aching from his wounds. "Can't you do anything?" he yelled to Naruto and Kakashi.

"I'm nearly done," Kakashi shot back.

"Same here," said Naruto, pulling out kunai. "But I'm not going down without a fight. They can have Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, Haku-chan, and Kurenai-sensei over my dead body!"

Despite the situation, the four mentioned women blushed slightly, but she and the others were caught by surprise when an arrow landed in front of the gang of henchmen. "If you come on our island," shouted Inari, at the head of a group of vengeful villagers, "we'll stop you with everything we've got!"

At this point, Naruto grinned and did the only thing he could. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten Naruto's flickered into existence, and Kakashi did the same as well, creating twenty Kakashi's. As a final kicker, Akamaru jumped on Kiba's back, while Kiba put his hands into the Tiger seal, and shouted, "Gijuu Ninpou: Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu (5)!" Two Kiba's appeared in a puff of smoke, and launched themselves at the horde, joined by the Kakashi's and Naruto's.

The Kiba's tore through the henchmen like mini-cyclones, while the Naruto's and Kakashi's jumped into the fray, and started swiping at whatever poor soul they could hit.

With a third of their numbers down, this was too much for the henchmen, and they took off, screaming and piling onto Gatou's boat, to the joy of the villagers. "We did it!" they shouted.

As the Kage Bunshins poofed out of existence, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "First, I'm sorry about the Raikiri to your shoulder… you need to be checked out and…"

"It's okay sensei," said Naruto grinning. "I had a feeling it might happen."

Kakashi nodded, not sure if he should still check over Naruto. 'The Kyuubi seems to have healed him,' he thought. "Second thing: What's this about a Doujutsu?"

"Uh…" Naruto was saved from answering by Haku's cry of "Zabuza-sama!"

Haku fell to her knees beside the dying Zabuza, and let her tears stream down. "Zabuza-sama…"

Zabuza wearily looked up. "Haku… you've become a fine shinobi… and a fine young woman…" Coughing up blood, he knew his time was short. "You don't need me anymore… grow up strong… go with the Uzumaki kid… he seems decent enough…"

Haku sniffled and nodded. When Zabuza called over Naruto, he came over.

"Kid… you did good… I can see… that Haku's in good hands now… You make her cry though… and I'll come back from the dead… all for the express purpose of kicking your ass…" Zabuza coughed up more blood, and he knew his end was near. "Kid… I want you to have my sword…"

Naruto was shocked. "But… I… it's your mark…"

"And I'm giving it to you…" said Zabuza, closing his eyes. "Think of it as… a parting gift… for one asking for one… seeking… atonement…" Zabuza felt himself grow cold, and whispered in his mind… 'I just wish... that I could... have seen... Mei... one last time...'

As he whispered out "Mei…", Momochi Zabuza, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, nuke-nin of Kirigakure, and nicknamed Demon of the Mist… passed from this world into the next world.

As it began to snow, Haku sobbed into her master's lifeless chest, crying his name over and over. Naruto knelt down from behind, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Haku turned around and sobbed into his shoulder, and Naruto gently rubbed his hand up and down her back.

Two weeks later, after giving Zabuza a formal burial, Team 7, Team 8, and Haku departed Nami no Kuni, with the bridge completed. As the nine shinobi left, Tazuna realized what he'd call the bridge. "In honor of those brave shinobi who gave us back our hearts, and our courage, we'll call this super special awesome bridge… the Ultimate Ninja Bridge."

"Grandpa," said Inari as they walked back, "that's a good name… but could you please stop saying 'Super Special Awesome'? It's starting to scare everyone…"

"No promises my boy, no promises."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"I can't wait until we tell everyone this back home!" exclaimed Kiba down the road. "We saved a country, and took down a tyrant!" Akamaru yipped, happy that he would have things to tell his littermates.

"Not to mention gained a possible future ally," added Shino.

Both teams nodded. However, Kurenai noticed that Naruto was unusually quiet. Kakashi noticed it, too. "Naruto?"

"I was thinking... is it possible to check out the eastern shore?"

In answer to Kurenai's attempted question, Kakashi said, "The old man that we mentioned earlier, Enishi, told us that there was someone named Daikani on the eastern shore who could answer our questions."

"Speaking of which," said Sakura. "How come we've never heard of the Uzumaki Clan? What were they famous for?"

Kakashi frowned. This was something he'd have to take up with the Hokage when they got back. "They were a powerful clan. They were known to have long lives and be fuuin Jutsu masters. They lived in Uzushio no Kuni, in their village Uzushiogakure, but the village and land was destroyed long ago... right before the start of the Second Shinobi War, I think. The clan was scattered everywhere, and it is rumored that any village would do anything to have at least one under their command."

Everyone digested this. "What did they do to warrant destruction?" asked Sasuke.

"Fear," answered Shino.

"Y-you can d-do anything with f-fuuin Jutsu," said Hinata. "Lock something, j-jail something, anything."

They were quiet for a while, with Kakashi, Kurenai, and Naruto on eggshells on how close Hinata got to nearly blowing an S-Rank secret. But she was right. Even now, Naruto held the scroll holding Zabuza's sword in his pouch, as he knew it would be a pain to lug around.

In any case, by an unspoken poll, the two teams, plus Haku, opted to make their way to the eastern shore. However, they were unaware that they were being watched.

In a tree, sat two beings. One was a man who had spiky red hair, piercing blue-green eyes, and wore a leather coat and baggy gray cargo pants, shinobi boots, and a bright blue crystal around his neck. Around his waist was a sword-in-scabbard, and slanted on his head was a black hitai-ate that bore a spiral. His eyes narrowed at the Konoha-nin below him, and his whispered something to his companion; something that looked like a dark green lizard that was about the size of Akamaru; it had a birdlike body, as well as a yellow underside, but it also had a pair of clawed human-like hands, three-toed feet with a dewclaw, short spikes on its knees and back, and a red-streaked tail as long as its 1-foot body. Around its neck was a blue bandanna with a red spiral. It watched with silvery eyes, and nodded at the soft words of its human, before crawling down the tree and running away.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later found the nine at the eastern shore looking at the ocean. With cliffs behind them, ocean before them, and standing on the sandy beach, it was a sight to behold. The sun was in the process of setting, creating long shadows that extended hundreds of feet outwards. "Does anyone have any idea where we're supposed to go?" asked Kiba.

"He just said the eastern shore," said Naruto. "Let's just look and see if we can see anything strange."

"There's something strange," said Haku a moment later, pointing down the shoreline.

Everyone looked up to see something crawling out of the water. It looked like a turtle, about the size of a medium-sized dog, but it had no upper shell. The upper half, which was like a leathery shell, was a tannish gold, and the lower half, which was shelled, was bone white. It had a row of spikes from in between its eyes on its head to just before the tail, and walked on four legs with five-clawed feet. On each side looked like a pair of flippers that were folded up, and around its neck was a blue bandanna with a red spiral. It looked at the group with disinterested silver eyes, before waddling off around the edge of some rocks.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day," joked Kiba.

"You saw the bandana, right?" asked Sakura.

"That means that it's owned," said Shino.

"Maybe it's Daikani," said Naruto.

"Check it out, Hinata," said Kurenai.

"H-hai," replied the Hyuuga, after which she activated her eyes. As the veins swelled around her eyes, Naruto sighed as an afterthought, and muttered, "Reinogan no Tomoe: Kanetsu Ni." His iris's turned yellow with two black triangles around the pupil.

"What do you see?" asked Kakashi.

"The turtle-thing is walking toward a hoard of rocks," said Hinata, tracking it.

"There's a chakra source its heading towards," added Naruto. He frowned when everyone looked at him. "I'm not getting out of this one, am I?"

"Nope," replied Sasuke. "Since when did you have a doujutsu? I was under the impression that there were only two; hers and mine."

"This came from my dad's side of the family, I guess," said Naruto, deactivating his eyes. "It could have come from mom's side, I don't know." About half of that was true, but it was up to them to sort out which was which.

All the while, the group made their way around the bend. When they arrived, they found nothing.

"What the crap is this?" said Kiba. "Where did it go?"

"Spread out, and be on guard," said Kakashi. "We don't want any surprises."

Slowly, the nine humans plus one puppy went out in a circle, eyes open.

Hinata, her Byakugan still active, scanned the rocks. This area was too open, too easy to enter... something wasn't right.

"Hey, there's a girl there!" exclaimed Sakura. She pointed at a young woman standing in the water up to her ankles, looking at the ocean. The girl looked to be about fifteen, with long red hair that went down to the small of her back, and a purple knee-length skirt that was tied around her waist. She wore a lavender vest over a blue tank top, a pair of black arm warmers that went from her shoulders to resembling fingerless gloves. Around her neck was a hitai-ate that they couldn't tell from the angle, and a blue hair clip keeping the left side of her bangs out of her eyes, which were sea green.

Sakura noted that she was even more developed than Kurenai, frowning at the beauty of this unknown girl. "Should we get her attention?" she asked.

"Pretty..." muttered Kiba. Suddenly, Akamaru began growling.

The reason came in the form of Hinata letting out a yelp, as the ground rose below her. She jumped, just as the sand erupted to revealed a human form. It was a man, wearing only a set of shorts, and scars all over his body. He was muscular and an inch taller than Kakashi, and had spiky orange hair with silver at the temples, and burning orange eyes that held a maniacal gleam. His hands and forearms, as well as his feet and shins, were wrapped in bandages. "Intruders!" he growled, hunched over and hands clenched like a bird-of-prey. "Dare to invade our territory, but I will drive you out!"

He jumped and delivered a strike at Kiba, who jumped out of the way. "What gives!?" yelled Kiba. Akamaru jumped at the man, but was thrown backwards. Thankfully, he was caught by Kiba.

Kurenai raised her hands in preparation, but was caught by an arm that wrapped across her. The arm belonged to a large man, who wore a grey vest and pants, with a netted shirt underneath the vest, and shinobi boots. In place of a belt buckle was a hitai-ate that had a spiral on it. He had short reddish-orange hair and a point beard, and grey eyes. "No no, Ms. Lovely," he rumbled. "None of that now."

"Sensei!" Hinata jumped at the large man, only to be thrown away by the orange-eyed man. Sasuke and Naruto jumped at him, only to be thrown back. It was a sufficient distraction though, as Haku created her mirrors, trapping the attacker.

Over with Kurenai, the large man let her go and flailed, as bugs suddenly appeared on him. "Worry not, sensei," said Shino. His victory was short-lived as he dropped to the ground, with the reason being a dart that had flown into his neck. His kikaichu left the man and flew to him to aid. Kurenai leaped backwards as the large man tucked himself into a ball and rolled after her.

With Haku, she was shocked as the orange-eyed man punched his way through the mirrors, but was immediately clotheslined by Kakashi. "We don't want any trouble," he said. "We're just looking for someone named Daikani."

"I am Daikani!" growled the man. "And you are intruders!"

Kakashi suddenly dropped as a dart appeared in his neck. Sakura threw three kunai at Daikani, who took them in the chest. Growling, he tore them out and rushed her, throwing a punch, but hit Naruto instead who jumped in the way. The punch threw him back into some rocks, and he shakily rose to his feet, but was caught on something. Turning around, he saw that the turtle-thing had his jacket, and he tore himself free, leaving behind the jacket and scroll.

"STOP!" came a strong, feminine voice, and everyone did so.

Approaching the battlefield was the girl from before, except she held a blowpipe. Her hitai-ate bore the spiral like her large friend, and she wore a frown. "Why are you here? Be quick!" she stated.

"An old man named Enishi sent us this way, to look for someone named Daikani," said Naruto, panting heavily.

She stared at him. After a while, she smiled. "The geezer found another one." She directed her orders to the others. "Daikani, Joumaru, stand down. We are in the presence of family."

Daikani's mood changed immediately. "As you command, Tsurina-sama."

"I am Uzumaki Tsurina," said the girl. "The big guy is Uzumaki Joumaru, and orange-eyes is Uzumaki Daikani."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," said Naruto. "My mom was an Uzumaki, but she died the day I was born, along with my dad."

That caused Kurenai to narrow her eyes. To her knowledge, there was only one Uzumaki in the village at the time of the Kyuubi attack, and if it was who she was thinking of...

"Oh, glory to the Creator, Enishi have found another!" exclaimed Tsurina. "So, when can he expect him?" she asked.

Naruto dropped his head. "You won't. He's dead. A Jashinist guy got him."

She gasped, Joumaru dropped his head, and Daikani growled. "I will tear him apart and use his spine as a whip!"

"No need," said Naruto. "I blew him to pieces. But he gave me this." He extended his arm, revealing the tattoo.

Tsurina inspected it, and nodded. "Time was against him, and it had to be kept safe."

"So..." said Kiba. "Do you think you can fix my teammate?"

"It's just a paralyzing agent," said Tsurina. "It'll wear off in a few minutes. In the meantime, let us invite you in. You wouldn't want to travel in the dark, would you?"

The seven congregated. "It w-would be rude to r-refuse," offered Hinata.

"They attacked us," retorted Sasuke.

"Because they don't know us," said Naruto. "Plus, this could be an opportunity to find out more about them."

"I'm all for it," said Kiba.

"I'd like to wait until Kakashi and Shino can move again," said Kurenai. "But given that we don't know how long that would be, I'm inclined to accept their invitation."

"What if it's a trick?" asked Sakura. "What if they're lowering our guard?"

"They had us on the ropes before," said Haku. "If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it."

"So, a vote then?" asked Naruto. "Yay's or nay's?"

"Yay," said Kiba.

"Y-yay," said Hinata.

"Nay," said Sasuke.

"Nay," said Sakura.

"Yay," said Naruto.

"Yay," said Haku.

"On a vote of 4 to 2, the yay's have it," said Kurenai. She turned to see Tsurina talking to a green lizard thing, that nodded and ran away. She walked over to a patch of sand, slammed her hands into the ground, and yelled "Kai!"

A house shimmered into view. It was a modest two-floor house that had double doors and a spiral above the doors. She waved them over. "Come, enter our humble domicile."

Kiba and Naruto picked their jaws off the ground. "That was awesome!" they yelled. They started forward, but Naruto turned around and created two Kage Bunshin. One picked up Shino, the other picked up Kakashi, and Naruto himself went to retrieve his jacket and scroll. As an afterthought, he picked up the turtle-thing as well. When he returned, he noted that Sasuke and the other Naruto were helping to carrying Kakashi in, and Daikani had jumped into the ocean, then emerged, free of sand.

Once everyone was inside, they found that they were in a medium-sized room that had a spiral staircase in the rear right corner that led up to the second floor. Another set of double doors lay against the wall, and torches had been lit on the walls, with a number of chairs lay before them. Kakashi and Shino were laid against the walls, the two of them now able to twitch, and Daikani ran up the stairs.

"So, an Uzumaki still lives within Konoha," said Tsurina. "How did that come to pass?"

"I don't know, but what do you mean still?" asked Naruto, setting the turtle-thing down. He had not heard of any Uzumaki before him. Neither had the others, for that matter.

Tsurina frowned. "Oh how Toma-sama will rage at this," she muttered. "Do you know nothing of your heritage?" she asked.

"That's why I'm here."

Tsurina motioned everyone to sit, and they did so. "Toma-sama knows more than I, but I will tell you what I know. What do you know of the Rikudou Sennin?"

No one answered, at least until Sasuke let out a sigh. "He's supposedly the man who discovered the means to use Chakra, and the savior of the world in a bygone age. He was also reported to have a legendary doujutsu, and was called a god on earth." He frowned as everyone stared at him. "So I read a couple of stories about him. So what? It's only a legend."

"You are correct, and incorrect, cousin," said Tsurina.

Sasuke frowned. "I'm not your cousin, Naruto is."

Tsurina giggled. "Somewhere up the line, we are related."

Naruto gazed in shock. "No!" he cried. "It's not fair!"

"Stop whining," Joumaru chided. "It's distant enough so that it won't matter. With us, it would matter."

"All that matters is the clan and the Great Ancestor," said Daikani, reappearing. He wore a blue sleeveless haori and black pants, tied in place by a black belt. He bore the Uzushio hitai-ate on the belt.

"In any case, he existed," said Tsurina. She pointed at a wall, which showed a picture. The picture showed a thunderstorm, with a great black beast with ten tails, a gaping tooth-filled maw, and a single strange red eye, facing down a lit tiny man wearing a high collar coat, wielding a Shakujou (6) in his left hand, and a sword in his right. "Behold, the greatest battle this world has ever seen."

"What is that thing?" asked Sakura, speaking for everyone.

"It was thousands of years ago," said Joumaru. "A terrifying monster rampaged across the land. It was the Juubi no Daidarabotchi (7), and it was so powerful that it shaped the land to its liking. Unfortunately, it hated everything, so it destroyed any and all that it could."

"Until one day," spoke Tsurina. "A man, a monk of all people, stepped forward to oppose it. That man was the Rikudou Sennin. He waged a mighty battle against his foe, until finally, he defeated it after many days of fighting, and was heralded as the Saviour of the World." She pointed at another picture, showing a shadowy figure with only his eyes visible; the eyes were purple, and in a hypnotic ring pattern.

Everyone, save Joumaru, Daikani, and Tsurina were entranced by the tale. "How did he defeat it?" asked Naruto.

"He sealed it into his body, through his doujutsu, the Rinnegan, and powerful tools that were called the Rikudou Sennin no Hougu (8)," said Tsurina. "The people saw, and were amazed, and called him the Shinobi no Kami."

Inwardly, Naruto noted that people in the past had more sense than people now.

"What does the Rinnegan do?" asked Sasuke. He had heard it in legends, vague legends, but nothing concrete.

"It allowed him to use all the elements, and a host of other abilities," said Joumaru. "Like we said, he used everything at his disposal to quell the Juubi."

"S-so what happened after that?" asked Hinata.

"He lived for a long time, but his body gave out," said Tsurina. "Before he died, he sealed the Juubi's body into a great mass of rocks, and cast it into the sky, where it became the moon."

"But that's impossible," said Sakura. "No one can be that strong."

"Hence why he was called the Shinobi no Kami," said Tsurina. "Afterwards, he granted his powers to his children." She pointed at another picture; this one had the end of a bed, and at its foot sat two men. The man on the left had long black hair with two locks wrapped in bandages framing either side of his face and his eyes had a spiral pattern instead of iris' and pupils, and were turned up at the corners, with markings under them. He had his eyebrows clipped short, and was wearing a black robe, as well as a frown. The man on the right had short spiky hair with two locks of hair wrapped in bandages framing either side of his face in a similar manner to his brother. He also wore a forehead protector with markings on the sides but no symbol on the metal piece, and a black robe. He had coal black catlike eyes, a frown, and a visible aura around him.

"To his elder son, the man on left, he granted his eyes, chakra, and spiritual energy. To his younger son, the man on the right, he granted his life force and physical energy," said Joumaru. "The elder brother would go on to sire the Uchiha clan, and the younger brother would go on to sire the Senju clan."

Kiba snorted. "Great, gave Sasuke a bigger head, why don't you?"

"Watch it mutt," growled Sasuke. "Least I know now that my great power is hereditary."

"But what most don't know," said Tsurina, stopping the coming argument, "is that he had another child that he passed powers onto... a girl. His only daughter." She pointed at a picture of a woman with long dark red hair with two locks wrapped in bandages framing her face, a pair of catlike sea green eyes, and a necklace around her neck that bore nine magatama. She wore a black robe, and a sad smile on her face. "She received his knowledge, and the residual energies from the Juubi, that had been purified by the great Rikudou, as well as a combination of his physical and spiritual energy. She was tasked to look after her brothers, and aid them in bringing peace to the land. She would go on to sire the Uzumaki clan, and we would later form our own village; Uzushiogakure, the Hidden Swirling Tides Village."

"She was our p... pro... progenitor," said Naruto, understanding.

"Indeed," answered Tsurina. "Hence, why I loosely call Uchiha-san 'cousin'... because of our great ancestor, the Rikudou Sennin."

Everyone was silent. "That was... enlightning," said Kurenai. "But why does no one else know of this?"

"As time passes," said Joumaru. "History becomes myth, myth becomes legend, and things are forgotten. But we remember, because of our progenitor, who recorded our history."

"Wow," said Sakura. Then she remember something that they said earlier. "You said that there was an Uzumaki in Konoha before. What did you mean?"

Tsurina, Joumaru, and Daikani looked at each other. "That's for another time. Until then," she stood. "You must be hungry."

Storytime over, a number of stomachs began to growl. "So we are," slurred out Shino.

xxxxxxxxxx

Moments later found everyone being led through the double doors and staring at a large table with sixteen chairs (seven on each side, and one at each end) that had been laden with meat, fruits, and vegetables. There were two different large slabs of meat, one pale red, the other dark red; plates that held fruits, such as Nashi (9), apples, strawberries, cherries, peaches, watermelon, and kiwi; and plates that held vegetables, such as cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, leek, and renkon. There were plates, silverware, and drinking mugs filled with water at each placement, except for the end placement.

It was all mouth-watering. "How did you make all of this?" asked Kiba. Akamaru barked the question, too.

"That would be our doing," came a rich voice, from the side. The owner turned out to be a tall muscular man with an orange goatee, his orange hair cut into a medium mohawk with a lock drooping in between his blue-green eyes. He wore baggy grey cargo pants, shinobi sandals, a purple vest in the style of a coat, black gloves, and the Uzushio hitai-ate in the style of a sash across his chest beneath the vest. Around his neck was a necklace with two glowing blue crystals.

His companion was the watcher from before, who raised an eyebrow at the assembled shinobi. Both carried a large barrel, that each had a faucet.

"The name's Gekidou, Uzumaki Gekidou" said the one with the mohawk. "And this surly bastard is my triplet brother, Saitou."

"I'm surly because you had me take on that bear," growled Saitou. "Plus, we lost the old man."

"And gained a kinsman... possibly a child of Miren," replied Gekidou. "So things worked out."

Saitou snorted. Behind him, the green lizard-thing snorted as well.

"Ano..." began Hinata. "Are those cre-creatures summons?"

"Something like that," said Saitou. "More like companions. This guy's called Iago." Iago let out a cawing roar, revealing a mouth full of teeth like a Tiger Shark.

"And this is Geki," said Gekidou, as what looked like a purple and black frog with a medium length neck and three clawed toes appear over his shoulder. It had an Uzushio bandanna around its neck, and it let out a growling croak.

"Odo is mine," said Joumaru, holding the turtle-thing in his lap. Odo just stared at everyone.

"And my companion Prio is somewhere," said Tsurina.

"Not that I'm complaining," said Shino, having finally regained his feelings, "But what is the reason for the feast?"

"It is Uzumaki custom to throw a feast and song in celebration of an event," said Saitou, as he and Gekidou set down the barrels. "Usually a victorious battle, or a clan head, heir, or heiress birthday. In this case, the return of another member. We were actually setting up for the arrival of Toma-sama, who was returning from a mission, but he informed us that he would be late."

"Let's get started then!" said Naruto enthusiastically.

"First we bless the food," said Tsurina. She stood, and walked to a case, as Saitou brought over an item. Said item was a memorial tablet, with "Uzumaki Enishi" carved into it, and it was placed at the end of the table. Tsurina returned with two memorial tablets; one said "Rikudou Sennin" and the other said "Kuroku-hime". Upon placing them at the end, she bowed her head, with everyone following her example.

"O Creator, please watch over Enishi-sama, and let him join the fallen in a place of honor. Watch over your children, O Great Progenitors, and keep us on the path to do your work, to bring peace to these lands. Namu Amida Butsu."

When she finished, she motioned everyone to sit. On one side sat Saitou, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Haku, and Gekidou. On the other sat Joumaru, Kurenai, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Tsurina, and Daikani. Soon enough, conversation ensued as everyone filled their bellies.

"Saitou-dono, how are you part of triplets?" asked Haku. "I mean no disrespect, but you look nothing like Gekidou-dono."

"The wonders of genetics," said Saitou. "You should see brother Geiruudou, if he were here."

"Where is he?" asked Hinata, nibbling on a peach, and sighing at the taste. This was good, possibly better than any fruit back home.

"With Toma-sama," said Tsurina, keeping an eye on Kiba. He was feeding Akamaru scraps of the dark red meat, and subtly giving her looks. She mentally shook her head... poor lust-filled child.

For his part, Kiba couldn't keep his eyes off of Naruto's hot cousin. That long red hair, that world-class rack that matched Kurenai-sensei, and the way that skirt parted at her hips, revealing creamy flesh...

"**MINE!**" came a voice from below. Kiba jumped as something like a snake with legs crawled up into Tsurina's lap and hissed at him. It was dark blue on top and tan on the bottom, with four legs that ended with three clawed toes. At its middle were a pair of talons that stretched a membrane that was attached to its arms and legs in a web-like pattern. It had silvery eyes and an Uzushio bandanna around its neck, which was wet, and a mouth full of small pointed teeth.

"Prio, there you are," cooed Tsurina, nuzzling the creature against her cheek. "I was getting worried."

"**Tsu-Tsu,**" growled Prio, and hissed at Kiba, who raised his hands in surrender.

"Burned!" guffawed Gekidou.

In an attempt to change the subject, Kakashi said, "This red meat is delicious. I can tell that the other is pork, but what is this?"

"Bear."

Everyone that had eaten the red meat let out a choking noise, save for Kakashi and Akamaru who happily dug in. "You eat bear?" gasped out Sakura.

"Damn straight," said Saitou, laughing. "This particular bastard could have eaten one of you in two bites."

Naruto shrugged at dug in. Bear was good, probably as good as ramen. "I need to wash this down," he muttered, and walked to the barrel nearest to him.

"I wouldn't pick that one if I were you," said Saitou, as he watched Naruto filled up the mug.

"What is it?" asked Kurenai, poking at the bear meat on her plate, and reaching for some strawberries.

The answer came in the from of sputtering from Naruto as he snorted and gasped as the pink liquid dribbled out of his mouth. "What was that!?" he gasped. "It was sparkly and kicked me in the face. And I can still taste it."

"Dragonfruit Beer," said Gekidou, gulping down his own. "An Uzumaki specialty. It only grows in Uzushio no Kuni."

"BEER!?" gasped Sakura. "You can't give us that, we're underage!"

"Not really," said Kakashi and Tsurina. After a glance, Kakashi added, "The moment you get that hitai-ate, you're considered an adult. Besides, I was younger that you when I had my first drink."

"You were a Jounin when you were their age," retorted Kurenai, sipping a little Dragonfruit Beer. It burned going down, but it was deliciously sweet.

"Meh, details," said Kakashi, tossing a Nashi at Tsurina, who caught it and thanked him.

"We are trained to fight and die for our villages," said Haku, trying some. "Zabuza-sama once told me that the moment you became a shinobi, other doors opened to you... Old enough to kill, old enough to drink, old enough to smoke, old enough to fu-"

"Sage words," said Gekidou, raising his mug and gulping more down.

By this point, Naruto had filled up his mug, and was joined by Hinata, who took mug-full as well. Just to try.

"Hinata..." intoned Kurenai.

"Lay off," said Tsurina. "One little drink won't kill her."

"I can't condone it, though," retorted Kurenai.

Hinata, by that point, had sipped some down, and started gasping. "B-burning!" she gasped. "B-but so sweet..."

"I want some!" said Kiba, standing up. Shino pulled him down. "You are bearable in the best of times, and we would not like to see you drunk anytime soon."

"He's right," said Kurenai. "No more beer for anyone who's a Genin." That sent a round of laughter from the present Uzumaki.

"When you enter an Uzumaki Hall, you can expect four things," said Tsurina. "The four B's; Bed."

"Board," said Joumaru.

"Bear!" yelled Daikani, holding up a piece.

"And Beer!" added Gekidou.

"Hear, hear!" they cried, raising their mugs of beer, and downing them.

"What about song?" asked Naruto, shaking his head a little. He had gotten used to the Dragonfruit Beer.

"What would you like to hear?" asked Saitou.

"Something... triumphant," suggested Kiba.

Tsurina nodded, and started off, her melodious voice blending with the garbling calls and vocals the Uzumaki companion creatures provided.

"Born in the time of darkness and evil under the sign of God

glory's my mother fire's my brother sword my holy law.

Into the land of chaos and hate there is no place for me

and for the conquest of justice and honour I will use my steel."

Daikani took over, his voice a Tenor's; "Holy flame burn again for eternity

burn my heart to win.

The holy war is awaiting another fiery king."

Joumaru took over, his voice a rich Baritone; "Rage in my heart crossing the forest riding my black horse

Across the valley along the river where the hot blood flows.

Over the lakes and over the hills I follow the call of the wind

uphold the legend and for my princess I will fight and win."

Daikani took over again. "Holy flame burn again for eternity

burn my heart to win.

The holy war is awaiting another fiery king."

All of the Uzumaki, sans Naruto, sang the chorus: "Lord of the thunder please be my guide

before and after my last ride

I'll be your soldier serving the light

riding forever alive and proud."

_(Lord of the Thunder, by Rhapsody)_

There was applause throughout the hall as the Konoha shinobi plus Haku delighted in the song. At that point, the double doors opened, to reveal two figures. The first was a tall man with long reddish-orange hair wearing an open trenchcoat that was so dark a blue it was nearly black, and a bandana on his head that had the Uzushio plate on it. He also wore baggy black cargo pants with shinobi boots, fingerless gloves, and a necklace that held a glowing seven glowing blue crystals. He wore no shirt, and his visible chest had a scar going across his chest from the left side of his chest near the collarbone to his right side under his arm. His face reminded Kakashi and Kurenai of Sarutobi Asuma (without the beard), and had a scar that went from above his left eye to below his right eye, both of which were dark blue.

His companion was short, a little taller than Sakura. He wore a dark blue high collar coat, black pants and shinobi boots, and a bandana with the Uzushio plate. The only visible feature that could be seen were his blue-green eyes. Around his shoulders was what looked like a gray snake wearing a bandana with the Uzushio sigil, with little wings where arms would go, and little legs, with piercing green eyes.

Behind them came something reptilian the size of a tiger. It was light green, scaly, and had an Uzushio bandana around its extended neck. It walked on four legs like a tiger, on five-toed feet that ended in short claws, with the exception of the thumbs, which had sickle-shaped claws. On its shoulders were little lowered flippers, and it had light blue eyes that swept over everyone. It let out a rumbling growl.

"Whoa," was echoed by all the non-Uzumaki, sans Naruto, while Sakura, Haku, Kurenai, and Hinata blushed at the sight of the tall man.

"Easy Vulgo... It appears that things are in full swing," said the first one, his deep voice echoing.

"Hey, Toma!" shouted Gekidou.

"Geiruudou," called Saitou.

"... Brothers and cousins," came a soft voice from the covered Uzumaki.

"... He has a good sense of style," said Shino.

xxxxxxxxxx

Having his fill of food, Toma turned his attention to Naruto. "So, you're Kushina's boy..."

Feeling slightly tipsy, Naruto nodded. "That's mah mommy."

Toma chuckled, seeing the onset of the Dragonfruit kicking in. "So which one of these ladies is your intended?" he asked. "The Hyoton user?"

Haku blushed and shook her head.

"The pink-haired one?"

"HELL NO!" cried Sakura, outraged.

"The Hyuuga?"

Hinata blushed, but thanks to the effects of the Dragonfruit, she didn't pass out; she only giggled. "Not yet," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Oi!" Kiba was outraged. "Stick to your team!"

"Bite me, Kibble!"

"So I guess that vision of beauty next to Joumaru is out of the question, huh?" asked Toma.

Kurenai blushed. "For your information, I have a boyfriend."

"I knew there was something going on between you and Asuma," laughed Kakashi.

"I like girls, but I don't have a girlfriend," said Naruto, biting into a piece of bear. He tossed an Apple at Geiruudou, who caught it and nodded in thanks.

"Well," said Toma, "It's nice to know that there is no jeopardy for you. Miren's heir will need to continue his line though."

"That's the second time I heard that," said Sasuke, biting into a Tomato. "What does that mean?"

"It speaks of the three lines of the Uzumaki, of the royal line through Uzumaki Jirago, the grandson of the founder of Uzushiogakure," said Toma, tossing some watermelon at Vulgo, who caught it in its mouth. "He had three sons; Shouwa, the eldest; Heisei, the middle child; and Miren, the youngest. Shouwa deigned to handle international relations, so he passed it to Heisei, but Heisei chose to protect the village, so headship of the clan was passed to Miren."

"Most of us here are children from Heisei's line," said Tsurina. "The exceptions are Toma-sama, Daikani, and you, Naruto-sama."

"Who are Toma and Daikani...?"

"I am from Shouwa's line," said Toma. "The only other member of Shouwa's line left was Mito-sama."

Something clicked in Kurenai's head. "You don't mean Senju Mito, do you?"

"Who's that?" asked Kiba. Sakura answered, "She was the wife of the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama. She has a granddaughter named Tsunade, and not much else in known about her."

Toma frowned. "In any case, none of us know which line Daikani stems from. Enishi found him wandering in the woods of Hi no Kuni years ago. He looked like he had been tortured, but the truth was far worse... he had been experimented on."

Everyone gasped, and Daikani clenched his fists.

"An inspection yielded the presence of Jashinist blood in his body," growled Toma. "Some bastard contaminated the sanctity of an Uzumaki with that foul blood, for reasons I do not know. Coupled with our Kekkei, the result was that Daikani in damn near indestructible and hopelessly mad."

"I will never forget!" roared Daikani. "I will never forget that face... that limp black hair, those yellow slitted eyes, the purple eyeliner, the boys hanging around him... I will not forget that PEDOPHILE!"

That pronouncement caused the Genin to go green, and made the pale Kakashi and Kurenai suspicous. The yellow eyes were a trait that they knew that only one man had...

"In any case," said Toma, "Any other Uzumaki that remain loose in the Nations are likely Heisei-born or Miren-born... but Naruto-san is the only Miren-born that we know for sure."

"How did you get separated?" asked Hinata, the drink making her loose the stutter.

"It was... long ago," said Toma, leaning back and closing his eyes. "The Second Shinobi War was nearing its end. Kushina-sama was sent to Konoha as part of a shinobi exchange program, and stayed with Mito, while we received a girl named Akimichi Tatsuko, who would later father Joumaru."

"That... makes sense," said Kakashi.

"Anyway, Soragakure had been defeated, but not without great cost."

"Soragakure?" asked Shino, asking a question for once.

"The Hidden Sky Village," answered Geiruudou. "A country from across the sea whose shinobi found the secret to flight, though it was through mechanical aids. They fought in the Second Shinobi War in an attempt to establish themselves on the continent, and were defeated and destroyed by Konoha. They were supposed to be the most advanced shinobi village, followed by Yukigakure and Amegakure."

"Yukigakure?" asked Sakura. "Where's that?"

"In Yuki no Kuni," answered Kakashi. "I was there once, and have no desire to return. Too damned cold."

"Can I finish?" growled Toma. At the silence, he nodded. "Thank you. As I was saying, the battle against Soragakure was won, but we lost a great deal of numbers, for the Uzumaki were not the only clans in Uzushio. Our allies were the Juujin clan, the Beastmen; the Yuurei clan, the ghostly ones; and the Kisaragi clan, the shapeshifters. We, the quartet, faced down Soragakure with Konoha, only to face a new nightmare... After we exchanged shinobi, we were attacked by a combination of shinobi from Kirigakure and Iwagakure, led by the Sandaime Tsuchikage and Mizukage. They led a force of 2,000 shinobi, versus the 800 of Uzushio. But they had no way to reach us."

"Why?"

"Because the only way is by bridge and by water, but the water route was taken care of, by the whirlpools we placed. Yes, our Fuuin jutsu granted us the ability to create whirlpools wherever we placed them."

"Then how-?"

"One of our own was blackmailed into releasing the kill-seals on the only bridge to the mainland, the Great Birdge of Numenor, created by the grandfather of Jirago, Uzumaki Numenor."

"Poor Airen," lamented Tsurina.

Gekidou, Geiruudou, and Saitou broke out into a haunting melody. "The silent willows keep the ancient stone

Hidden behind that cryptic door

Rituals of terror quake all the ghostland

The bloody line now paints the cold floor

The evil pages are almost written

With the dark poison of flesh and bones

Fire is raining on the grey mountains

Waters are waiting for the last oath

The way is open... now they are coming

Called by the blasphemous words of the lord."

"And finally" said Tsurina, "the violent waves announce their arrival. And blood will soon be painting the beloved lamenting ocean."

The four of them sang, with Joumaru and Daikani joining in; "The way is open... now they are coming

Called by the words... the words of the lord."

Toma spoke as they ended. "Ethereal harmonies spread through all the air... The unreal calm before Elnor's end..."

_(The Poem's Evil Page, by Rhapsody)_

"They broke through the Gates of Elnor, but we made them work for it. We bought enough time for the civilians and the Miren-born to be evacuated, and got them off the island. But they were waylaid on the mainland by stragglers, and nearly killed them all... until Airen fought back. He and members of the Juujin fought... a mere 13 versus 90. They killed them all, but lost 7 of their numbers."

The Genin were entranced and so were Kurenai, Kakashi, and Haku. They had heard the tales of Uzushio fall, but... Haku furrowed her brow. "I mean no disrespect, Toma-dono, but you speak as if you were there."

"I was, my dear," he said. "I was 35 at the time."

Kakashi and Kurenai widened their eyes. "That would make you over 70 years old!" exclaimed Kurenai.

"Yeah, so?"

"You look like you're in your 30-40s," said Kakashi.

"Good genetics," said Toma.

That made the other Genin look at Naruto, who shifted. Would that be his fate? To be stuck at a young age appearance-wise while growing older?

"Anyway, we were outnumbered nearly 2 to 1, and we still fought. The Daishogun of Uzushio, Uzumaki Sorin-sama fell in battle against the Sandaime Mizukage, but he ensured that the Mizukage could never be a shinobi again. His son, Uzumaki Eiren, repelled the Sandaime Tsuchikage, but they still kept coming, and he realized what they were after... our wealth, our secrets, our knowledge. So he activated the Kamikaze seals."

"Another lamentation," said Geiruudou.

Toma sand this time, his light bass making the solemn recollection even more so. "My princess why must I assist at your death

I can't endure this tragic pain

Now I close your eyes while thunder strikes the sky

I cry to see the innocent die

Brothers I'm ready the ride can begin

For you I must win

Now the time has come farewell my dear old friends

Ancelot is calling for my help

From the sun of Elgard to the middle plains

For salvation of enchanted lands

I'm looking forward to avenge all those killed

To be face to face

Fire and steel

Follow me through my lands

You will burn hordes of hell

In the deadly raging flames of revenge

Come out from your abyss the tears seek revenge

For this cruel tragedy flames are burning high

Brothers I'm ready the ride can begin

For you I must win

Fire and steel

Follow me through my lands

You will burn hordes of hell

In the deadly raging flames of revenge."

_(Flames of Revenge, by Rhapsody)_

He wiped a few stray tears away. "To prevent everything from falling into the hands of our enemies, Uzumaki Eiren devastated our home. It was a pyrrhic victory; the invaders were driven off, but the village was destroyed. Eiren's next command was the trial of Airen, whom we found innocent by reason of extenuating circumstances, but Airen chose Excommunication for his forced betrayal."

The assembled Uzumaki shivered, except Naruto. Treading on eggshells, Naruto asked, "What's that mean?"

"It means that his family name is taken, he is expelled from the clan, and his Kekkei is sealed," said Geiruudou. "He chose it, even though he was innocent, because he felt that that was the only payment that would be fair."

Everyone paled. Living a life without their Kekkei... it would matter for Kakashi, since his was artificial, and Kurenai and Sakura had none, but it was a terrible fate.

"H-How was he blackmailed?" asked Haku.

"His family with the Juujin clan's heiress was held hostage; unless he let them past the gate of Ancelot and onto Elgard - that was the old name for Uzushio - then they would die. He did so, but once they were free and clear, they tried to kill them, and succeeded in killing Airen's wife, their companions, his two daughters, and his son. Airen survived, and vented his rage on any enemy he came across. And, under the order of survial, Eiren scattered us throughout the Shinobi World, awaiting the time to call us back."

"And now, after decades of being lost," said Saitou, smiling toothily, "We can go home."

"UZUSHIO!" roared the seven adult Uzumaki, standing. "UZUSHIO! WE WILL ENDURE!" They came together, mugs in hand, and clashed them together.

"UZUSHIO!" yelled Naruto, raising his mug and standing. He stood with them, raised his mug, and they clashed theirs with his. "We are not alone!" he yelled out joyously.

"The dobe's lost it," remarked Sasuke.

"He just discovered that he has family remaining," said Shino. "Could you do any less?"

Sasuke sighed, and begrudgingly shook his head, knowing full well and he would probably by happy as well. He watched as Naruto sung and swayed with the seven Uzumaki, then he watched in shock as Naruto turned around, and planted a deep kiss on the surprised lips of Hyuuga Hinata, who let out a small shriek.

"NARUTO!"

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(1) Ranzatsu = Confusion. The trigger word for the third Reinogan tomoe.

(2) Suiton: Suijinheki = Water Release: Water Encampment Wall.

(3) Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu = Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique.

(4) Magen: Jubaku Satsu = Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.

(5) Gijuu Ninpou: Juujin Bunshin = Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone.

(6) Shakujou = also called a Khakkhara, it is a Buddhist ringed staff used primarily in prayer, or as a weapon, that originates from India. The jingling of the staff's rings is used to warn small sentient beings (i.e. insects) to move from the carrier's path and avoid being accidentally trodden on. In ancient times it was used also to scare away dangerous animals. Ringing also is used to alert the faithful that there is a monk within earshot in need of alms. In Japan the shakujō became a formidable weapon in the hands of a practiced Buddhist monk. It could be used as a staff to block and parry attacks and the metal rings at the tip could be slammed into an opponent's face to momentarily blind him. At the very tip of the metal finial is a sharp point which can be used to attack weak points of the body. The bottom end of the khakkhara has a metal butt which can be used to thrust and hit an opponent. An opponent's weapons can also be easily deflected.

(7) Juubi no Daidarabotchi = Ten-Tail Giant

(8) Rikudou Sennin no Hougo = Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths

(9) Nashi = Japanese Pear. Generally sweeter than the American/European pears

That obnoxiously long definition is about the only time I'll do that, since not many people know what a Shakujou is.

When I went for the portrayal of the Uzumaki Clan, I tried to do something different. Everyone else portrays them as some noble clan along the lines of the Hyuuga; calm, cool, and collected. Well, I modeled them in that similar vein, but mixed in a bit of viking culture - hence the feast and song - with Ancestor Veneration, and a teensy bit of Monotheism. Just a bit. Which makes them connected as a family through the veneration of their ancestors, with the Monotheism giving them a "live and let live" philosophy, and they celebrate joyous and solemn occasion with feast and song. But when it comes down to it, they can be as civilized and powerful as a royal family can be [in that world]. I went with the band Rhapsody because they are my current favorite band, next to Masterplan and DragonForce.

And I, in no way, support underage drinking. I just stand by how the Shinobi World is portrayed; medieval-esque, with an emphasis on training the youth to fight for the village, which leads to the vices. I mean, it was stated somewhere once you earn the hitai-ate, you're essentially an adult. Kakashi became a Chuunin at the age of 6, and looked to be a Jounin around 13 or 14.

Please review, and ja ne!


	3. The Journey Home

Howdy folks, Dez Guardius here. It's cool seeing the responses, although the only thing I have to complain about are the lack of reviews. They feed me... at least for the time being!

On that note, got my first constructive criticism. The reviewer essentially said that I went too fast in introducing the "new" Uzumaki, and giving them "off" names, and he disliked their viking-ish portrayal.

My response is first, thank for the criticism, it shows that someone's looking out for things that could be better. Second, my original plan for the Uzumaki in the original was for them to be a sociopathic, genetic-obsessed clan bent on revenge for the loss of their home, and appear in the timeskip intended to take over the Shinobi World. That reunion would have resulted with Naruto either having to choose to side with the family he never knew, or stay with the village that had scorned him time and time again, with the promise that those he was "intimate with" would be allowed to join them.

Basically, a less happy reunion. Eh, the fantasies of a madman. So I opted to give them the viking-esque treatment, to reflect with the comment of their status as noble savages, but there's a reason I showed them this early, and it will be explained why.

Reversing course, Kuroku-hime was actually based on one of the deities of Japanese Mythology, which is where her name came from. The others were actually on old sketches I found, back when I had more complete notes for the original. The names in Uzushio like Ancelot, Elgard, and Elnor are homage's to Rhapsody, since they are my current favorite band, like I said last chapter. Numenor, on the other hand, is a homage to a certain popular book series turned movie series that reflects on the Uzumaki; I'll let you lot figure it out. In regards to the seven Uzumaki (Tsurina, Gekidou, Geiruudou, Saitou, Daikani, Joumaru, and Toma), they were meant to be an advance guard for the clan of sociopaths, but I changed that around for this go round, thinking that I could do better.

For future reference, the shinobi world will be portrayed as it is in the map so graciously provided by xShadowRebirthx, at deviantart/Elemental-Nations-Geographical-Map-3174 22439

Thanks to you all, and on with the show!

Blah Human dialogue

Blah Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 3: The Journey Home

The sun shone down through the window, causing the occupant of the bed it hit to curse. The occupant, Naruto, twitched at both the bright light and the feeling of something knocking on his head. A nudging sensation, to match the pulsing ache he was feeling in his skull. Blearily, he reached over, and tried to push away the source. It subsided, but came back moments later. He opened an eye to find out what the hell was bothering him, and both shot open in surprise and terror.

In front of him was a kunai handle. It switched around to the bladed end, and the wielder glared down at him in cold fury.

"You have ten seconds to improve my mood, and you've already lost six," growled Yuuhi Kurenai.

Naruto slowly raised his hands to ask what the hell she was pissed about, but his right arm was stuck under something. Something warm. Something moaning and sighing.

He slowly looked down to see blue hair and a naked back. The owner pushed herself further into him to escape the evil sunlight, and whispered, "Naruto-kun... it's too bright..."

Kurenai twitched, and Naruto whispered out, "Okay, I have a really good explanation for this."

"I'm waiting."

"I don't think we did anything," said Naruto. "I mean," he checked under the covers, and against his will, his little friend began waking up. "I don't see any blood, so I didn't do anything."

"I was under the impression that you didn't know a thing about Sexual Education," said Kurenai, still glaring at him.

"I got kicked out of the class, but I tried listening in," said Naruto. "I did catch something about skin inside that tears and leaves blood, before I got sent away."

As terrible as that was, hearing that the Academy sabotaged his education to the point where he barely knew anything about Sex Ed to stop him from breeding, she still had a bone to pick with him. "You won't find anything, because she tore her hymen during a training exercise."

'So that's what it's called,' he noted internally. "So..."

"So there's no way of telling if you did anything."

Naruto winced. This could not get much worse.

Immediately, the door opened and Gekidou stuck his head in. "Time to-" he started, before seeing two wide-eyed shinobi staring at him. He saw the blue hair against his cousin, and grinned widely. "You work fast, little buddy."

Naruto just wanted to disappear right there, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. Hinata chose that exact moment to wake up, moaning and clutching her head. "A headache..." she muttered, before seeing the wide-eyed Naruto in front of her. She reddened, and turned around to see Kurenai and Gekidou staring at her; one in shock, the other with a smile.

"Miren's line is assured, with a strong woman like her," chuckled Gekidou, before running. As he ran down the hall, a loud "KYAAA!" echoed through the house.

The other Genin, plus Haku and Kakashi, scrambled out of their rooms to see Naruto running down the hall in just his boxers, clutching his clothes and the medallion from Enishi. Kurenai chased after him, yelling, "Come back, I won't hurt you much, I'll just maim your lower body a little!"

Having seen Naruto scramble away with Kurenai chasing, and no Hinata around, they were able to put two and two together. Kakashi wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye, saying "My little student has become a man. I'm so proud..." Haku just blushed, and excused herself.

Sakura, Kiba, and Shino were far less pleased. The first two run after the enraged Jounin, screaming "NARUTO!" Shino said nothing, but there was a loud buzzing coming from him as he walked after them. Sasuke just looked down at Akamaru, who looked back at him, then walked back into his room, saying "It's too early for this crap."

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Minutes later Kurenai being restrained by Joumaru, while Kiba and Sakura were respectively restrained by Saitou and Daikani. "Let me at him!" howled Kiba, frothing at the mouth. "He violated my teammate!"

"MURDER!" came from Sakura.

"Let me go, big guy, before I make you," growled Kurenai.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," said Joumaru. "You'll castrate him."

"He can grow another set!" she retorted.

Naruto, who was hiding behind Gekidou, let out a loud whimper, and dug himself a nice hole in the sand.

"QUIET!" came an voice. Everyone present turned around to see Hinata, clothed this time, walking forward. "N-Naruto-kun d-didn't do anything," she said, reddening like a tomato. "I j-just helped him up t-to his room, and we fell asleep. N-nothing happened."

Kurenai glared at the hole in the sand, then looked over to Hinata. "Are you sure?"

"I d-don't have it in me to l-lie," was Hinata's response.

Kurenai winced, knowing that that was true. She let out a sigh, and said, "I won't hurt him, so put me down."

Joumaru let her go, while Kiba and Sakura were let go as well. A moment later, Naruto stuck his head up. "Am I safe?" he asked.

"For now," growled Kurenai, Sakura, and Kiba.

Naruto let out an "EEP," and ran inside the house. Hinata stared after him in a daze, then looked back at her comrades. "I c-can defend myself, you know," she murmured. "I am a kunoichi of K-Konoha."

"Sorry, Hinata-chan," said Kiba, rubbing the back of his head. "I just reacted."

Hinata twitched. She only really liked it when Naruto called her Hinata-chan.

"Reaction without knowledge leads to ruin," said Saitou. "That's called 'jumping to conclusions'."

"We apologize," said Shino, appearing behind Hinata.

"For what?" asked Joumaru. "You didn't do anything."

"I was about to have Naruto-san say hello to my little friends."

Naruto came back out, fully dressed this time, and opted to avoid the watchers who saw him reappear. He made his way over to Tsurina, who was staring at the ocean. "You were doing that yesterday," he said. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking in the direction of Uzushiogakure," she said.

"What's it like?" he asked. Kakashi, Sasuke, Haku, Akamaru, and the others joined them, eager to know.

(BGM: _Virgin Skies, by Rhapsody_)

"A tropical paradise," she said, a wistful look on her face. "On the mainland, you would pass through the Gate of Ancelot and onto the Great Bridge of Numenor. Numenor-sama led our ancestors there by boat, then created the bridge by himself through his mastery of Doton Jutsu. The Gates of Elnor were created to greet all who came to the village, and the Elgard River flowed through the main village. He built up the city through the wealth of the earth, for the island was once a volcano, and yielded a great bounty of precious gems, like diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald. Against the walls of the mountain were our ancestors, carved into the rock and watching over the village; Rikudou-sama and Kuroku-hime sit side-by-side, and over further is Numenor-sama, the founder and Shodai Daishogun; Korin-sama, his son and the Nidaime Daishogun who brought about great advancements to the village; Jirago-sama, the Sandaime Daishogun who allied and aided our distant cousins, the Senju under Senju Hashirama, in the wars that would come; and Sorin-sama, the Yondaime Daishogun who would be there ensure that we survived. Each of the statues hold gemstones that match their eyes in life, save Rikudou-sama, who would be given eyes of sapphire and ruby. Surrounding the village to the west was a great forest, holding a host of creatures not seen on the mainland, and within the forest was a shrine, dedicated to the Daisei... the great students who set out to spread Rikudou-sama's philosophy of peace."

"Wild Shukaku, Sly Matatabi, Shy Isobu, Proud Son Goku, Lonely Kokuo, Crass Saiken, Gentle Choumei, Crude Gyuuki, and Mighty Kurama," said Geiruudou, stroking his companion's head. "All lost long ago."

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Inside our resident jinchuuriki, the Kyuubi raged. How dare those savages reveal his named, which was bestowed to him by the great Rikudou. It was his and his alone, and no one else needed to know it. No one deserved to know it, not after how they treated him and his kin. How dare they!

But, he mused, these wretched humans, such as his current prison, knew nothing of their true natures, so he was safe, for the moment.

Now how to turn this into something interesting...

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Naruto frowned, rubbing his stomach. It burned briefly, but it went away. "Can we go there, at some point?" he asked.

"It's too dangerous," said Toma, as he slammed his hands on the ground in front of the house. It disappeared in a blast of smoke and a giant scroll was left in its place. "There is still much to do. Reuniting the clan, clean-up, rebuilding, and more."

"So where do we go from here?" asked Kurenai.

"I will send Gekidou and Geiruudou with you, to watch over Naruto-sama," said Toma, strapping the scroll to his back.

"How can you impose that on us?" asked Kurenai. It was a legitimate question.

"We are Uzumaki, the remaining close kin of the Senju clan," said Toma. "We are narrowly tied to the village through marriage, thanks to Mito-sama. The leaders of Konoha would have to be brain-dead to refuse them. In any case, the others will go with me to search for Aki-sama and her entourage. When we return to Uzushio, we will send word, and you are invited to join us."

"Aki... Who's that?" asked Sasuke.

Toma sighed, and sat on a rock. "To tell you that, it involves another tale... the final tale, for our time together." He took out a scroll from his trench-coat pocket, and unsealed it. In a puff of smoke, a strange weapon appeared. It looked like a massive hammer, but one end had an axe blade. The staff was painted black and the hammer and blade were a dull bronze.

Kakashi and Kurenai leapt back, as if the weapon was some unholy artifact. "Where did you get that?" asked Kurenai, her wide eyes on the weapon.

"What is it?" asked Kiba, sensing his sensei's fear.

"That is Hakaiteki (1), the Ax-Hammer of one of the most vile and feared shinobi to ever live," said Kakashi. "Tenzen Kyou, also called the Moujuu (2), who was made infamous during the Third Shinobi War."

The only person to recognize the name was Kiba. "B-but he's supposed to be a story, something parents tell their children to make them behave."

"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke. "I've never heard of him."

"N-neither have I," added Hinata.

"Supposedly, if your children don't behave, you tell them that the Moujuu will take them away and devour their brains. The Moujuu is repelled by good children, so we tried to be on our best behavior... considering."

"He's real," said Kurenai. "His savagery was legendary. He would raze a forest to smoke out a single person. They say that if he was chasing you, then it would be better to run yourself to death, because he would never stop hunting his quarry, and he would do things that would make them beg for death. He was one of the only shinobi to ever achieve a flee on sight status in the Bingo Book."

"Even worse, he's a cannibal," said Kakashi. At the green looks of the Genin, he elaborated. "I know this because I've seen his handywork." He sat on a rock, recalling that horrific day. "We had received word that a possible defector from Iwagakure was calling for asylum in Konoha. I, my sensei Namikaze Minato, the man who would be Fourth Hokage, my teammate Nohara Rin, and temporary teammate Yakushi Buki were sent to bring her in."

He sighed. "When we got to the town she was hiding in, all we found were broken buildings, flaming rubble, and dead bodies. A village of 300 people, wiped out in a single day of misfortune. We even found the half-eaten bodies of children." He shivered lightly, as Sakura lost composure and leaned over a rock to vomit. "There's no shame in that, Sakura," he said. "We did that, too."

"W-What about the-?" started Haku.

"The defector?" Kakashi answered. "We found her disemboweled and crucified to a wall. And the worst thing was that she was still alive, somehow."

The Genin paled. What kind of monster did that?

"She survived long enough to tell us to run, before dying," continued Kakashi. "That was when the Ax-Hammer came out of nowhere and cut her in half. I'll never forget that... he appeared, took a leg, and bit off a chunk. Then he turned to us, and said 'I am the apex predator, and you wretches are my prey'."

"H-how d-did you e-escape?" asked Hinata, shivering.

"We ran. We ran like the Shinigami himself was after us. We ran like little children to their mommies. We ran like bitches, and we were not ashamed of it. Sensei bought us time by fighting him, but it was like fighting a mountain. He didn't want to go down, and he kept swinging that weapon around like it was nothing. When we were far enough away, Sensei used his Hiraishin no Jutsu to appear next to us."

"Was that the last time you saw him?" asked Shino, understandably disturbed.

"Unfortunately not," said Kurenai. "He appeared again on the front lines, leading his own group, called the Kyouboujin (3). They were composed of criminals from Iwa, but were granted reprieves, provided they fought in the war. It was a desperate act, to deal with the legendary Yellow Flash." She closed her eyes, seeing that particular battle again in her mind. It was the aftermath of another battle...

Flashback

A fifteen-year-old Kurenai panted as rocks smashed against the wall she was hiding behind. The battlefield was an abandoned town near the border of Kusa no Kuni and Iwa no Kuni. "This is stupid," she groaned. "Why are we even here?"

"This is supposed to be a supply post," said Namiashi Raidou, a recent Jounin. "We take out the post, the war gets closer to ending."

"Yeah, unless Takigakure screws us over again," complained Tokara, a Chuunin. "Remember the First War? And how they tried to assassinate Shodai-sama?"

"They claimed it was a rouge agent," said Yamashirou Aoba, a Chuunin.

There was a cry as the Iwa-nin chucking boulders at them was put down by their team leader, who yelled out "INCOMING!" moments later, and an explosion went off near the group. Shielding her face, Kurenai stuck her head around the wall, and cursed. "Ah, shit, it's the Bakuha Butai!"

The Bakuha Butai was a famed team of five shinobi from Iwagakure, with the dangerous Bakuton Kekkei, which granted them explosive powers. The team was headed by a man with light brown spiky haired hair, who wore an Iwa flak jacket, and single-sleeved shirt underneath, leaving the entirety of his right arm exposed except for the presence of his hitai-ate, which was wrapped around the upper portion of the arm. His green eyes searched around the rubble and growled, "Spread out, and find the Konoha scum."

His teammates nodded and spread out. One appeared next to the wall the four were hiding behind. He was short, with messy brown hair dark brown eyes, and a stocky body. His arms were bare, he wore his hitai-ate around his neck, and around his waist were two pouches. He looked around, then ran around the wall to see... nothing. He frowned, sure at having heard something.

He returned, saying "Nothing over there, Gari-sama."

Gari, the leader, frowned and looked over at another team member who had her foot on an injured Konoha-nin. Lying next to him were the remains of a Iwa-nin, which had annoyed his present captor. The captor had blonde hair down to her shoulders, blue eyes, and wore a flak jacket over a black formfitting jumpsuit, and shinobi boots. She had two swords on her back in an "X" fashion, and wore her hitai-ate on her head. She gazed impassively at her prisoner. "We know you have companions here," she said. "Where are they?"

"Gone," spat out the Konoha-nin, a Hyuuga and the team leader, blood streaming from his mouth from shrapnel wounds on his chest. "They've found the post and destroyed it. The war will end soon."

"Maybe," she said, leaning down. "But you won't be around to see it." She grabbed his face, and sent her chakra through her hand. A small explosion went off, blowing the injured shinobi's head apart.

"That was a bit much, Mai," said Gari.

"He was dead already," said Mai, stepping off the body. "I just helped him along."

Under a genjutsu, the four Konoha-nin glared at the team. "Let's get them," growled Tokara.

"Wait for it," said Raidou, pulling at his katana on his back.

"In any case, he was lying, or he actually thought they were gone. Mai, Saizuchi, take to the air," said Gari. "See if you can spot them."

The short one, Saizuchi, nodded, and reached into both pouches. Out of both, he pulled out white birds, each of which grew to great size. He and Mai climbed onto them, and flew off.

"Ango, Makoto, you're with me."

Ango was a large man built like a wrestler with tanned skin, light brown eyes, an Iwagakure bandanna, and the flak jacket over a netted short-sleeve shirt, black pants, and shinobi sandals. Makoto wore bandages on his hands and a traditional shinobi outfit consisting of a black kosode and black hakama, with shinobi boots. He had blue eyes and black hair in a topknot, and wore his hitai-ate over as a belt.

Makoto grinned. "What's the job... demolition?"

"With extreme prejudice," said Gari. "They're still out here somewhere, and this will flush them out." The three leapt back, and Gari waved an arm at the two airborne members. Immediately, white objects the size of heads began dropping from the birds, which led to explosions blowing apart the ruins.

Out of the smoke came the four Konoha-nin. Makoto grinned and started kicking rocks at them. The rocks had been imbued with his explosive chakra, but he was able to figure out a way to time-release the explosion, by putting a set amount of chakra in the objects he touched, and contact with another object would set them off. Thus, as the rocks impacted, they sent up explosions, explosions that our Konoha-nin had to avoid if they liked living.

"Blast this," said Raidou, as he sent a horde of kunai at the three. They jumped away, and Makoto appeared behind him, throwing a punch at Raidou's unguarded back.

Except Raidou twisted his body, drawing his sword at the same time, and severed the extended arm. The cry that Makoto let out was cut short as the chakra that had built up in the limb detonated, throwing the two in opposite directions.

"Makoto!" yelled Ango and Gari, as Raidou tucked and rolled, and ran after his teammates into the sparse forest. Makoto landed on a wall that collapsed and buried him under rubble. "I'll get him," said Gari. "Ango, you and Mai take them out."

"Understood," said Ango, and took off after them, followed by his airborne companion. Ango ran and ran, plowing through whatever obstacle came before him. When he came across a massive boulder, he concentrated his chakra, and blasted it to pieces.

"Damn, he's persistent," cursed Tokara.

"We're almost to our lines," shot back Aoba. "Lose step here, and you die!"

Ango, realizing that they were getting away, picked up a large boulder. Luckily, Makoto wasn't a dick and had shared his technique with the squad, save for Saizuchi, who didn't need it.

Oh, that kinjutsu.

At any rate, he sent the rock flying, and it landed behind them and detonated, throwing them forward and out of the woods. Groaning and dazed, they were helpless as Ango approached them slowly, methodically, purposefully. "You gave me a good run," he said apologetically, "but time has run out for you all."

"Actually," said a voice, "they've just gained a little more time!" A fireball landed in front of Ango, who leapt backwards. The newcomer wore the standard flak jacket of Konoha, along with a black shirt with the Konoha Military Police Force symbol on the shoulders, shin-guards and a black, open-front apron with white diamonds on the bottom. He had short, black hair that reached to his shoulders and onyx-coloured eyes, with visible creases. More important was the Sharingan blazing in his eyes.

"Uchiha Fugaku," groaned Raidou. "We're glad to see you."

"Thank me later," he said. "Right now, we fight."

Ango ran forward, thrusting forward his right arm, and Fugaku flashed through hand seals and slammed his hands into the ground, causing a wall of earth to rise up. The blow detonated the wall, but Fugaku was flashing through seal as he jumped into the air. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" he roared, and spat a fireball three times his size at the Iwa-nin. Ango leapt backwards as it impacted, and Mai took his place, tossing shuriken after shuriken at the Uchiha from the air. As each shuriken impacted, it sent up a cloud of dust and flame as it detonated. Fugaku avoided each and every one, and by this point, the other were by his side and offering anti-air resistance in the form of kunai and shuriken.

Mai tried to make the clay bird dodge, but it was just not responding as it should. Sighing, she angled it downward, and sent it on a course for the five Konoha-nin. When she deemed it close enough, she drew her swords and severed its wings, turning the transport into a missile.

They saw her incoming, and ran. Mai backflipped off the bird before it hit the ground, and landed next to Ango as the bird exploded. They approached the blast zone, and saw the five on the other side, lightly burnt, but still fighting fit. They also saw fifteen Konoha-nin shinobi heading towards them.

"Shit," cursed Mai. "We need to regroup."

"You've lost," called out Tokara. Suddenly, the sounds of hoots and hollers filled the air, and seemed to get closer. Mai paled, and she cursed again. "Of all things, why them!?"

"Kyouboujin!" went the cry from the far end of the forest, and twenty shinobi leapt out, running towards the assembled shinobi.

"Discretion is the better part of valor," said Ango, and took off.

"Don't leave me here, you jerk!" snapped Mai, running after him.

"Why are they running?" asked Tokara as the twenty Konoha-nin braced themselves. "Their all Iwa-nin."

"The Kyouboujin are criminals-turned-fighters," said Kurenai. "Collateral damage is their slogan."

The two groups collided, and weapons and jutsu were flying everywhere. The Kyouboujin may have been wild, but they were efficient. They fought like professional shinobi, but with none of the restraint.

It was when Kurenai had jammed a kunai into a Kyouboujin's neck, she felt pain, and was suddenly thrown away. She landed on her side, clutching her ribs, which were assuredly broken, and that was when she saw him.

Kakashi had described him, but as they say, seeing is believing. He was tall and muscular, with black hair fashioned into twelve dreadlocks down to his shoulders, and burning orange eyes. He wore a black, sleeveless kosode which he had tied with a yellow belt, a red hakama and black shinobi boots. His hitai-ate was sewn to the right side of his kosode, and in one hand, resting across his shoulders, was a weapon that looked like an ax and a warhammer fused together. She saw, and she was a afraid, for she knew who this was.

Tenzen Kyou, the Moujuu.

Kyou grinned down at her, revealing that he had fashioned his teeth into points, like a shark. He raised his weapon, spun it to the Ax-end and swung down.

Kurenai struggled to get away, but it was descending to fast. Suddenly, she found herself flying away, as a she heard the sickening squelch of metal piercing flesh. Only, it wasn't her flesh. "Tokara!" she heard Raidou scream, and she looked over, and saw the horror.

Tokara had used the Kawarimi on her, and taken the blow instead. Now, the Chuunin was lying on the ground, the ax-blade imbedded in his torso, and moving with the blade like a twisted ornament.

Raidou ran, extending his blade, but Kyou dropped his weapon and flashed through handseals. "Katon: Karyuudan!" he roared, and spat a massive surge of flame with a dragon's head at Raidou. Raidou dodged to the left, but the blast impacted on the ground, sending up a burst of earth and flame. Raidou screamed as a surge of fire hit the left side of his face, but went silent as a rock hit him in the face, knocking him out.

Kurenai pulled herself over to Raidou's body, as Kyou approached them. Taking up his weapon, he smiled toothily as Kurenai covered Raidou's body with her own. "How nice," he said, his gravely voice soft with the promise of pain. "Two for the price of one." He raised his weapon, the Ax side with Tokara's body still impaled facing outward, intending to strike the two injured Konoha-nin with the blade that was still impaled through Tokara.

He suddenly stumbled as a pair of shinobi kicked him in the chest. One was Kakashi, the other was a black-haired fellow with bushy eyebrows clad in a green jumpsuit with a flak jacket and shinobi sandals, and orange leg warmers. His Konoha hitai-ate had red cloth, and was worn around his waist like a belt. "It's Maitou Gai, you savage!" yelled the jumpsuit wearer.

"It's Beast, youngling... 'Beast of Prey' to be exact," rumbled Kyou. "And you've interrupted my hunt." He swung his weapon, the hammer side screaming towards Gai, who jumped over the weapon, and delivered a roundhouse kick to Kyou's head. Kyou dropped the weapon and caught Gai's leg, and threw him towards Kakashi, bowling them both over, putting them near Kurenai and Raidou. He went through hand seals, and slammed his hands into the ground, roaring "Doton: Dosekiryuu (4)!" A massive serpentine dragon rose up and slammed down on the ground where the four Konoha-nin lay.

However, they survived, by virtue of four men with blonde hair, blue eyes, a Konoha hitai-ate and flak jacket, over a blue shirt and pants. "Oh no, you don't," he growled to Kyou.

"Flash," howled Kyou, a mad grin on his face. "You escaped me before... you won't do so again!" He picked up his mighty weapon, and ripped Tokara's body off the blade. "My blade shall taste your flesh, and so will I. And I will do what even that old fool the Tsuchikage was unable to do... kill the Konoha no Kiiroi Senkou!" He rushed the four men carrying four shinobi, but they jumped backwards in the air, two of them carrying Raidou and Kurenai, and the others discharging Kakashi and Gai.

Kurenai watched as the four attacked the monster man, who jumped into the air and slammed his hammer into one of the blonde men, who disappeared in a puff of smoke. He then swung the ax side at Kakashi, who ducked and flashed through hand seals, before yelling "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" and shot a fireball twice his size at close range. It would have worked had Kyou not let go of his weapon and countered his own Goukakyuu. The resulting explosion momentarily blinded the combatants, but Gai recovered and launching an airborne spinning kick at Kyou, with Minato delivering a kick from below at Kyou's midsection.

The blows impacted, sending the large man flying backwards. He landed on his left hand, performing a handstand, and exhaling a blast of flame. Kakashi surged forward and countered with a flurry of seals, and slamming his hands on the ground. "Doton: Doryuuheki!" A wall of earth sprung up between him and the fireball, blocking the lethal flames. A hand punched through the wall and grabbed his head, Kyou's hand, and began to squeeze.

Minato appeared in a flash beside Kyou and jabbed a kunai into Kyou's arm, causing the man to roar in pain and let go on Kakashi. He swung his arm, and Minato ducked, and delivered an double upward kick to Kyou's face, pushing him back. Minato pulled out a horde of kunai, and threw them across at Kyou, who retrieved his weapon and swung it like a baton, deflacting the kunai. It was when he noticed that the kunai had an odd shape, a tri-pronged shaped, that he realized what was about to happen.

"HIRAISHIN NO JUTSU!"

Kyou was being knocked around by a yellow flash that appeared at random intervals. Blow after blow was rained down on the monster man, and cuts appeared all over his body, shredding his outfit. Kyou roared in pain and dropped to his knees. As Minato approached him for the final strike, Kyou slammed his hands into the ground, and a wall of earth rose around him. Minato pivoted and landed on the wall, then flashed to another kunai and approached Kyou from behind.

But that reprieve had given the Iwa-nin time to recover. He flashed through hand seals, set his own hands on fire, and slammed them into the ground, roaring "Katon: Kajinheki!" A wall of flames rose up, and Minato had to leap over to another kunai. Unfortunately, this one was close enough to Kyou that the man ran over and delivered a solid blow to Minato before he could recover. As Minato flew back, Kyou went through three seals - Rat, Dog, Tiger - and shot a small fireball out of his mouth. When it hit the ground, it erupted into a firestorm that surged forward and set fire to the landscape. Minato flashed over to another kunai that was out of the way of the firestorm, but he was panting heavily. This fight was taking a lot out of him.

"Katon: Zukkoku (5)," said Kyou, approaching Minato. "Learned it just for you, Flash." He grinned wryly. "I am one of the few in Iwagakure who was born with a fire nature, and had to work towards earth. Now I'm working on wind, so that I may achieve my goal of being the apex predator... with the one of the rarest abilities in the world... Jinton, the power of Dust."

"You're in for a long road then," spat Minato. "The number of people with three chakra natures is a small one, and I know that two are from your village. Plus, it's damn near impossible to gain a third nature and equalize them as an adult anyway."

"To your knowledge, at least." Kyou ran forward, in pain from the Hiraishin blows, but still fighting fit, and angry as well; angry that he was caught in the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Well, he used that anger to ignore his pain, and rush the Yellow Flash.

Gai and Kakashi rushed him, and the three leapt in confrontation.

End Flashback

"And that's all I saw before we were out of range," said Kurenai, ending her recollection. "I later found out that reinforcements came, and drove away Tenzen and his remaining six Kyouboujin. I also heard that Minato-sama got a few more blows in, and scarred that monster badly."

"When the war ended, we heard that he went mad, well, madder than he already was, and tried to kill the Tsuchikage and his son, and was imprisoned. He was supposed to be sent to the Blood Prison, where the worst of the worst from all over the Elemental Countries are imprisoned, but he got free on the way there, killed his escort party, and dropped out of sight."

The Genin were silent. "Are... are those the kinds of monsters that exist in war?"

"Not necessarily," said Kakashi. "It's all in perspective. By his actions in the war, we call the Yondaime a hero, yet Iwagakure calls him a monster. One person's hero can be another's monster, and vice versa."

Toma nodded. "In any case, he reappeared later... at the Gates of Ancelot and the Great Bridge of Numenor." He frowned. "In the chaotic aftermath of the Third War, Eiren saw the chance to reclaim our home, and led a force of Uzumaki and Juujin members to the Eastern shore, only to realize that the way was shut. Tenzen had aimed to claim the land for himself, and led a force of his remaining six Kyouboujin, and a mix of nearly 150 bandits and low-ranked shinobi. A little less than 160 enemies versus our force of 50... the odds were against us, but we marched into glorious battle."

"Unfortunately," said Gekidou, a frown on his face, "They knew to hit us where it hurt. The battle waged for hours, and our numbers began to drop. Tenzen was there, smashing and thrashing, and just when things couldn't get worse, he killed Eiren."

Gekidou knew this because he had been there. He was there at the tender age of 15, fighting alongside his kin and allies, to reclaim their homeland. He, along with Gekidou, Geiruudou, Joumaru, Tsurina, and Toma were there to fight, but the hoards of enemies were not making it any easier.

"He stood alone before that monster," said Saitou, taking his brother's silence as a means to continue for him. "During his travels, he gained a mastery over Suiton and Katon ninjutsu, and as a result, developed the Futton (6) Kekkei, so by rights, he should have prevailed. But Tenzen was as treacherous as a winter storm... he spent the whole time he battled under the Doton: Domu (7), and it took Eiren-sama's strongest attack, Katon: Hi Rei no Jutsu (8). He managed to wound Tenzen, but Tenzen took that moment to strike, and he crushed Eiren's body."

Silence rang, then Sasuke asked, "So what does this Aki have to do with this?"

"She is Eiren's only child, his only daughter," answered Geiruudou, taking his brother's place. "When she saw her father fall, she went mad with grief and rage, having lost her lover during the fighting. She took up her father's sword, Heart Earth, a sword made of pure jade, and battle Tenzen weapon to weapon. Finally, it came down to one jutsu for both of them... Tenzen struck with his Katon: Karyu Endan, and Aki struck with her Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu, sending up a great explosion and blast of steam... in the midst of the chaos, she stabbed him in the chest."

The Genin were awestruck. "So she avenged her father?" asked Sasuke.

"Sort of," said Gekidou. "He wouldn't go down, so she ended up blowing apart that section of the bridge and blew the two of them into the water." He frowned. "We routed the rest of our enemies, but there was no celebration that night... for we faced a great loss. Of our great clan, that had joined us to retake our home, there were now only ten. Of our friends the Juujin, only 10 remained. With heavy hearts, we laid our dead to rest, including Eiren-sama. That was when she reappeared." He smiled. "Dragging Hakaiteki behind her, as proof of her victory. At that moment, we all realized that despite our losses, despite the death laid out to us over the decades... she appeared, to reaffirm that we are still here, and we will endure."

'And everyone was glad,' thought Saitou. He remembered Tenzen's howl of pain and rage, and gazed in horror as Aki blew apart the section of bridge because the monster rushed her, and heard the two cries as both disappeared into the ocean. He remembered seeing her reappear later on, tears streaming down her eyes as she dragged Hakaiteki behind her, in mourning of her father Eiren, and her lover Yuu.

Everyone was quiet. Then Kakashi stood. "Well, it's nice to know that all of his victims can be have their eternal rest."

"With that being said," said Tsurina, standing, "It is time for us to take our leave."

"Agreed," said Toma, resealing the weapon and handing the scroll to Gekidou. Vulgo appeared next to him and grunted. Toma stared at Vulgo, then off into the woods.

Geiruudou picked up on Toma's distraction, and said, "We have visitors."

Given the events that had transpired up until then, the Konoha-nin plus Haku prepared themselves. But nothing prepared them for what came next.

Down one tree crawled a humanoid creature that looked like some sort of insect-human hybrid. It was a soft tan, with bulging green eyes, and short antenna between the eyes, and bared a leonine set of jaws It had a three-fingered segmented hand, four clear wings on its back, and walked on segmented tridactyl feet. Strangely, it wore a furry brown loincloth, and something like a furry brown tank top on its chest. It hissed lowly, drooling clear liquid. It took a moment to realize that it was a humanoid dragonfly.

Around another tree stepped a what looked like a golden humanoid fox wearing the same attire, but colored black. It had black ringed golden eyes, a gray underside, clawed five-fingered hands, and walked on digitigraded four-toed feet.

They were led by a man astride a gray wolf a little larger than a tiger, with orange eyes. The man had a scar that went from the right of his forehead to his left cheek, golden brown eyes and dark brown hair done in a ponytail down his back. His muscular chest was bare, and he wore a brown open-front apron and black pants, and furred boots. His nails were fashioned into claws, and he gazed stonily at the assembled shinobi.

Each being wore an armband that had a strange symbol; a single animalistic eye in a sun over three claws.

Akamaru whimpered and dropped on his stomach and rolled onto his back. Kiba followed his example and dropped on his back, spread-eagle.

"What are you doing, Kiba?" asked Sasuke.

"Shut up, Sasuke!" hissed Kiba. "There is a true alpha here... that man!" He pointed at the man.

"Get off the ground, runt," said the man. He cast his eyes over at Vulgo and Toma. "Toma... how are you?"

"Fang," greeted Toma, nodding back. "You're looking well."

The now-known Fang hopped off of his mount, and scratched it behind its ears. The wolf let out a soft growl. "Why are there Konoha-nin here?"

"They were just leaving," said Saitou. "Geiruudou and Gekidou are joining them, to watch over our lost prince."

Fang frowned, and scanned the Konoha-nin. "I presume it is the one with two shades of hair color?"

"Yeah, what of it?" challenged Naruto.

The fox-thing growled, and Naruto growled back. "Easy," said Fang, as his mount let off a growl. The fox-thing backed off, and the dragonfly-thing joined them. "Word of advice, youngling," said Fang. "Never challenge someone stronger than you. You will be sorry."

Naruto frowned. "Yeah... that's not going to work for me."

Fang grinned wryly. "He sounds like an Uzumaki, all right." He motioned to the two next to him. "Allow me to introduce myself, and my companions. I am Juujin Fang, the current leader of the Juujin Clan." He patted the wolf next to him. "This is Yuugo, my partner."

The two animal-things disappeared in a burst of smoke. The right side revealed a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair tied up with a ponytail, a well-endowed frame, and mischievous hazel eyes. Her cute face drew attention to her very kissable large lips, which were curled in a smirk. Next to her was a very large dragonfly with four legs and a set of pincers in place of the front legs. "The name's Kira," she said in a soft tone. "And this is my partner Jin."

The left side revealed a slightly pale woman with a pair of catlike red eyes and pale blonde hair done in a topknot. She had a set of ovals above her eyebrows, a well-endowed frame, and a sultry grin. Next to her was a golden fox a little smaller than the wolf. Kurenai noted that outside of the ovals and the hairstyle and hair color, she and the unknown girl could pass for twins. "I'm Sarai," she said softly. "And this is my partner Mana, daughter of Yuugo." Mana sat on her haunches and barked out a greeting.

Kiba, Naruto, and strangely Sasuke and Haku had light blushes. Kakashi had a glazed look on his face, while Sakura and Hinata had frowns, with Kurenai and Shino having blank looks. Their thoughts, well...

'HOT HOT HOT HOT...'

'Wow... they're pretty cute...'

'They have the looks... and the strength... I wonder how okaa-san would react to me bringing one of them home to help revive the Uchiha...'

'I can't believe I'm saying this... but those two are beautiful...'

'I wonder if they would be into a possible alliance...'

'CHA! How dare all these foreigners be hotter than me!'

'Ano... Naruto-kun's blushing... how can I compete with them?'

'Could those boys and girls be any more brazen?'

'...'

Fang frowned. "Wipe the drool from your chins, I'm still here. And those are my daughters you're ogling."

Kiba was the first to respond. He boldly walked up to Kira, and said "How would you like to come home with me and meet the family?"

Kira smiled, causing his heart to flutter, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She moved him to the side and approached the most unlikely person there... Shino raised his eyebrows behind his shades, as Kira circled him like a predator. She tilted her head, then drew him close, opened up his jacket collar, and delivered a soul-searing kiss to the Aburame heir. That particular action got looks of shock from those assembled.

"What the hell!?" squawked Kiba. "How'd fucking Shino get a total hottie like that without doing anything!?"

"Maybe because he's one of the quiet ones," suggested Naruto.

"I bet you're proud of your student," remarked Kakashi to Kurenai.

"Strangely, yes," said Kurenai. "He was the only one who kept his wits about him."

"And I just won a betting pool," said Kakashi. "On whether or not Sasuke was gay... I voted no."

Sakura growled, "Sensei! How could you!?"

"Name one girl Sasuke has ever shown interest in."

In the meantime, Kira separated and whispered, "Such a strong male. Well, I claim you as mine, and I shall have you when the time is right."

Shino's right eye twitched. "Shall you journey with us to meet my family, then?"

Sarai giggled at the sight, and the sound turned Kiba, Naruto, and Sasuke to goo on the inside.

Mana, who had been watching the scene with interest approached Naruto and pushed her head into his stomach. Hesitantly, Naruto scratched her behind the ears, making the fox utter soft growls.

"Mana's a good judge of character," said Sarai, rubbing her partner's back. "She usually doesn't like strangers, so you must be something special."

"Must be my good looks," Naruto responded.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Inside Naruto, Kurama snorted. It was likely because she somehow smelled him inside this wretch. The great fox frowned. As appealing as that was, and as appealing as this female fox was, she was something that was not supposed to exist. And he meant that in the nicest way possible, considering that he couldn't really be nice since he was a mass of rage.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Kiba snorted as well. "Between the two of us, I got the looks." He flexed his muscles under his jacket. "Plus the skills. And ladies love the cute little puppy."

"You both are pathetic," said Sasuke, snorting in disgust. "Rookie of the Year right here, plus the strongest Genin in the village at the moment. In addition, I'm a clan heir to a founding clan, and one of the four royal clans of the village."

"Who here can abuse Kage Bunshin like nobody's business?"

Sarai laughed. "That B-Rank Kinjutsu that's a death sentence for anyone less than Jounin?"

Naruto puffed out his just. "I can make the most in the whole village... more than thirty."

Sarai nodded. "Impressively, but there's just one problem." She struck suddenly, poking Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba once in the sternum, catching the three by surprise.

"Wha-?"

"Congratulations," she said, still smiling. "You three are dead because you fell prey to your animal instincts." She nodded to Kiba. "Him, I can understand, due to his nature. But you two..." she nodded at Naruto and Sasuke. "I can smell the tension between you two, and it is vile."

Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean? I-"

"Saw a pretty face and got into a barking match to see whose the biggest male," she finished. "I am not impressed."

Naruto's response was to look down, pull open his pants, and frown. "I'm pretty sure I'm more male than those two," he said. "I mean, I woke up earlier, and it was ei-"

"No one wants to hear that!" spat Kiba, covering up Naruto's mouth. Sarai began laughing, though for a different reason. 'I guess I was wrong. He might BE the biggest male here, in more ways than one,' she thought.

Over with Toma and Fang, they two shook their heads. "He's got a lot of work to do to make himself worthy," said Fang.

"I know," said Toma. "I'm actually surprised he turned out the way he did, considering he's been alone for years."

"About that," said Fang, looking over at Kakashi. "Why does he know nothing?"

"I'm going to find that out when we get back to Konoha," said Kakashi. "In the meantime, where did you find that wolf?"

The Genin quite arguing to hear this as well. It was rumored that sometimes animals did get that large, but this...

"In Udon no Kuni."

"Noodles Country?" asked Kakashi, frowning. "I don't remember hearing about any wolves down there."

"Well, what happened was that I was down there with my family when I was young, and he found me, more or less. It is the Juujin way, to search the wild for a companion, and when they reveal themselves, we are bonded. Then we can help each other, from because hunting and foraging, to the Juujin Yuugou (9) you saw earlier... the fusing of man and beast to become something new."

Kiba nodded. "Now I remember," he said, snapping his fingers. I heard tales from my grandparents that there used to be those that could fight with their familiars, and fuse with them if need be, and they were nearly unstoppable."

"The Inuzuka remember well," said Fang. "Anyway, myself and Yuugo bonded, and later on, my daughter Kira found hers in the same area I found Yuugo in... near the coast of Udon. Sarai, on the other hand, didn't find Mana; Yuugo brought Mana to her."

"So he found Mana?" asked Haku, who had been quiet this whole time.

"More like he sired Mana," said Fang.

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Kiba. "Foxes and wolves can't breed! They're two entirely different species!"

"Way to point out the obvious," said Sasuke drolly.

"You don't understand," said Sakura, uncharacteristically correcting her crush. "Foxes and wolves are canines, but their evolutionary paths diverged long ago. There's not enough of a relation to let them produce viable offspring. I mean, maybe Akamaru could breed with a wolf, but a fox can't."

"Sakura's right," said Kiba. "And Akamaru actually is part wolf."

"Well, somehow, Mana was born," said Sarai, stroking her familiar. "She even looks a little like Yuugo, so that was the conclusion that she made."

"But that shouldn't have happened," said Kiba.

"Neither should this," said Fang. He pointed up and barked, "Ka!" Yuugo growled, looked up, and inhaled. When he exhaled, he shot out a fireball the size of a rice cooker that rose into the sky and disappeared.

"A fire-breathing wolf!?" exclaimed Kiba. "That's not fair!"

"More like it shouldn't happen," said Fang. "But somehow, Yuugo is a fire breather."

"Same with Mana," said Sarai, hugging her familiar. Mana snorted, expelled smoke from her nostrils.

"And we aim to find out why," said Kira, pulling away from Shino.

"In the meantime," said Tsurina, "We must bid you farewell."

"Go in peace," said Joumaru, waving goodbye. Tsurina, Joumaru, and Daikani leapt away.

"You three watch out for each other," said Saitou, and he took off as well, at least until Haku called out, "Wait!"

Saitou turned, and Haku asked, "Can I go with you?"

Naruto was shocked. "Haku..."

"I mean no offense, Naruto-kun," she said. "But I have no hands holding me in place. With Zabuza-sama gone, I'm free to do what I will. And I have the wish to see the world."

"But Zabuza told me to look after you."

"And I appreciate that you are willing to do so," she said. "But, wish to see the world, and I cannot do so confined to a village." At Naruto's silence, she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "It won't be forever. We will see each other again."

Naruto sighed. "I really wanted you to see Konoha. But I won't be called a monster and keep you confined... that wouldn't be right." He looked over to Saitou. "Take care of her, will you?"

"Will do, cousin," said Saitou, and then he and Haku were gone.

"We will journey with you, Toma," said Fang. He mounted Yuugo, and Sarai did the same with Mana. "There will be hope for you three yet," she said, nodding towards Kiba, Sasuke, and Naruto.

"Will we see you again?" asked Kiba.

Sarai laughed. "Oh, you silly boy... you are far too young for me."

Kiba and Sasuke dropped their heads, while Naruto squinted. "That's not right," he said. "Leading us on like that."

She shook her head. "Hence why I said you three are too young." Before they could ask when they would be worthy enough, she and Mana took off.

Kira kissed Shino goodbye. "I will see you again," she said.

"And I you," said Shino. He raised a finger, and a bug crawled on it, then flew over to her. "This is one of my Kikaichuu," he said. "Something to remind you of me."

"How sweet," she cooed. Jin hissed at her, and she took off after her father and sister, who made their way through the woods.

"Well, this is where we part ways," said Toma. "I bid you-"

"Wait!" said Naruto, suddenly remembering. "Before you leave, I gotta know, what is the deal with this amulet?" he asked, zipping down his jacket and revealing it. "And the tattoo the old man gave me?"

"That is tied to one of the dark secrets of the Uzumaki," said Toma. "The story goes that when the village was founded, Numenor-sama sought to craft a group of summons that were loyal to only the Uzumaki. He sought aid from the Kisaragi clan to help in its inception, and created something with the diversity of beetles, the versatility of serpents, and the shapeshifting of the Kisaragi, with the mentality of an insect nest... governed by a hive mind and the will of the Uzumaki. However, even though they share genes with the Kisaragi, they are locked into a single form to prevent them from becoming too much of an issue, but no one form is the same, and they are able to share abilities. For a time, they served Numenor-sama well."

"Let me guess," said Sakura. "They rebelled against him."

"Actually, no," said Toma. "It worked... a little too well. They sought to overcome Numenor-sama, believing with their infantile minds that they knew what was best, and that by joining Numenor-sama with them, that the Uzumaki was be safe. But Numenor-sama did not take kindly to the idea of being a prisoner, so he had to put them in stasis, and culled their numbers, lest they be awakened and overtake him again. However, he left 10 alive, and only 10, out of the original 50-something. Instead, the guardians of the Uzumaki became these... the Evouruu's," he said, putting Vulgo. "They grow with us, and change with us."

"And the others?" asked Naruto. "What were they called?"

"The Shouhen Hoard."

For some reason, a shudder went through Shino, and he didn't know why.

"What kind of a name is that?" asked Sasuke.

"Have you ever had a sliver in your finger? Gets annoying, doesn't it?" At the nod, he continued. "Leave it alone, and it will get worse. And over time, you will wish you had taken care of it beforehand. Understand?"

At the nod, he knelt in front of Naruto. "You have the chance to redeem them," he said. "They will only obey you, but be clear on your orders, and let nothing happen to the amulet, or you will be consumed by them, and be lost forever."

Naruto gulped. Yet another responsibility, but he was good with that. "I'll do my best."

Toma nodded. "Until we meet again," he said, and shot off into the woods, followed by Vulgo who bounded after him.

"Well, now that that's done and over with," said Gekidou. "Let's get moving."

xxxxxxxxxxx

As the ten shinobi, plus two Kaisers, made their way to Konoha, Naruto couldn't help but ask, "So, what is it that our Kekkei actually does?"

"Rapid regeneration," said Gekidou. "A regenerative process that's dependent on the amount of chakra we carry. In addition, we also have a special chakra store, one that gives us all a unique ability."

"Like what?" asked Sasuke.

"Not telling," answered Gekidou cheekily.

Meanwhile, with Geiruudou, Hinata got up the courage to ask, "Ano, what is y-your companion's name?"

"Naga," was the answer.

"You don't talk very much do you?" asked Sakura.

"I find that it is better to speak only when the situation calls for it," he said. "In the presence of kin, we alternate when on topic, but in the wide wild world, extended speech is unnecessary, for it leads to distractions, which can lead to ruin. Therefore, when I speak, it will be short and to the point."

That was a longest thing that anyone had heard him say. "But, wasn't that a long speech?" asked Kiba.

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"You could learn a thing from him, dobe," said Sasuke.

"Bite me, teme!"

"Stop bothering Sasuke-kun, Naruto!"

"Are they always like this?" Gekidou asked Kakashi. Kakashi gave a nod. "Trust me, I heard it was worse in the shinobi academy," he added.

"So what did you do in the academy?" Gekidou asked Naruto.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Within the gates of Konoha, two Chuunin stood watch, bored out of their skulls. The one on the right had brown hair, and dark eyes. His hair was combed down, covering his right eye, and he wore a bandanna with the Konoha sigil on it, along with the standard Konoha shinobi outfit which went all the way up to his chin. The one on the left had long, spiky, black hair and dark eyes. He wore a strip of bandage running across the bridge of his nose and a light-coloured marking on his chin, and the standard attire of a Konoha shinobi complete with a hitai-ate and a flak jacket.

"Hey, Kotetsu," said the first one, squinting at an approaching group. "You seeing what I'm seeing?"

"If you mean a bunch of kids and two Jounin, plus a guy wearing a trenchcoat and a dude with a mohawk, then yes, Izumo, we're seeing the same thing," answered the now known Hagane Kotetsu.

His partner, Kamizuki Izumo, frowned. "It looks like Team 7 and Team 8, plus two unknowns," he said.

"Should we call for reinforcements?"

"Let's wait and see," came the answer. As the group moved closer, they could hear the resident loudmouth telling a story.

"... and after the ANBU ran through the feathers, they ended up looking like glorified chickens. And while we were running through the streets, that was when the Inuzuka dogs came running. I think they were attracted by the chicken feathers, but then the ANBU had me cornered in a back alley. When the dogs distracted them, one of the ANBU hit something and ruptured the building's sewage line." Everyone groaned, save for Shino and Geiruudou, who did nothing, and Gekidou, who was laughing his ass off.

"That was you!?" growled Kiba. "Those dogs put us through the worse cleaning session ever! The compound was stinking for weeks!"

"Again, it was one of the ANBU that did that, not me," said Naruto. "Of course, that merry chase I led them own let ojii-san know that his shinobi are slacking off."

"Naruto," said Kotetsu, narrowing his eyes. "Are you talking about that time you broke into the ANBU headquarters and tried to tar and feather them?"

"Didn't try, did," shot back Naruto.

"Well, because of you, they had to do months of mock drills, so you better watch out," said Izumo. "I hear that they believe in settling scores." He looked over at the rest of them. "Check in, please. And identify your companions."

"Team 7 and Team 8 checking in from the C-turned-A Rank Mission Nami no Kuni," said Kakashi. "Our companions are Uzumaki Gekidou and Uzumaki Geiruudou of the Uzumaki Clan."

The two squinted. "Uzumaki Clan? Would you happen to be related to that pain in the ass right there?" asked Izumo, pointing at Naruto.

"Oi! You two laughed your asses off at that prank!"

"True," said Kotetsu. "So? Are you?"

"Yes," answered Geiruudou.

It was when they got a good look at the hitai-ates that Gekidou and Geiruudou that their mouths started dropping. However, before they could say anything, Gekidou spoke up. "Not to sound rude, but we need to get to the Hokage," said Gekidou, gently pushing them aside. "Ja ne!"

As the group walked off, Izumo and Kotetsu squinted at their backs. "Kotetsu, is that a big purple frog on that guy's back?"

"Indeed. And is that a snake with wings around that guy's collar?"

"Sure looks like it. And didn't they wear hitai-ate of a dead village."

"... Yep. Looks like it's time to lay off that syrup."

Moments later found the group walking up the steps of the Hokage Tower. Since it was late afternoon, and nearly sunset, there weren't many people around, which was a good thing. Kakashi motioned to Gekidou and Geiruudou to stay outside, while he, Kurenai, and their teams went inside. Inside the main office, they found the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen sitting at a long desk, clad in his Hokage robes. On his left side was a old woman who wore a simple long kimono, closed by an obi, a jacket, and a sash over it. She had her gray hair pulled back in a twin bun locked by a hair pin with two pearls dangling off the side, and her eyes were squinting, nearly closed; this was Utatane Koharu. On Sarutobi's right side was an old man with grey hair, a beard, glasses, as well as a frown, framed by a strong jaw-line. He wore robes that looked similar to the Hokage's, save that the section that was white was gray, the red section was black, and he wore a white poncho over them; this was Mitokado Homura. Together, they made up the Primary Konoha Council, with Koharu standing as the voice of the civilians, Homura standing as the voice of the shinobi, and Hiruzen overseeing everything from foreign relations to handling internal disputes to military operations, with one other as an additional voice. Of course, they allowed clans heads and representatives of the civilians to let their matters in, in the form of the Mass Konoha Council.

"Team 7 and Team 8 reporting in on the C-turned-A Rank Mission to Nami no Kuni, with the mission a success," said Kakashi, as the senior shinobi.

"Excellent, Kakashi-kun," said Sarutobi. "Were there any complications?"

"Some," winced Kakashi. "I'll have a complete report for you tomorrow, but the short version is that Nami will have a payment plan worked out in a matter of weeks to pay the difference in mission upgrade, and we uncovered a... disturbing issue."

"Oh, really?" asked Koharu. "What kind of issue?"

"The cover-up of the Uzumaki Clan, and the fall of Uzushiogakure."

Hiruzen didn't show it, but he aged a little. Koharu and Homura, on the other hand, narrowed their eyes. "The Uzumaki Clan is dead," said Homura. "Uzushio is dead, and they have fallen to history. There is no need to inform the populous of the deceased."

"According to who?" growled Naruto, unable to keep quiet. "You?"

"Keep your student under control, Hatake," said Koharu. "Lest his delinquency prove itself in his speech."

"It is a valid question," came a voice from the window. Everyone turned to see Gekidou and Geiruudou sitting on the windowsill. "Sorry," said Gekidou, "but at the rate you were going, you would be in the ground and we would still be waiting."

"Who the hell are you?" growled Homura. It was then that he noticed the Uzushio sigil that the two bore. "How dare you bear the sigil of an honored village!"

"And how dare you deny our existence," retorted Geiruudou. Naga hissed at the three.

"We deny nothing," said Koharu. "The Uzumaki and Uzushio are dead. There is no more discussion."

"We don't look very dead," said Gekidou, frowning for once.

"You lie," said Koharu. "The last Uzumaki died thirteen years ago." She motioned to the glaring Naruto. "If you refer to that one, he was just given the name. He bears none of the traits."

Geiruudou sighed, and placed a hand on the wall. "Fuuin Jutsu: Jinheki (10)," he said. A circle of lines surrounded his hand, and lines extended outward, covering the room, before a blue barrier rose up.

"You dare!?" growled Homura, rising to his feet.

"It is merely a barrier," said Geiruudou slowly, as if he was talking to a child. "Just to ensure that the three ANBU trailing us don't interfere."

"Wait, there were ANBU trailing us!?" exclaimed Kiba. "Me and Akamaru would have smelled them!"

"It is my ability," said Geiruudou, looking at the three elders. "I am a sensor. I can sense many things... the ANBU trying to break the barrier, those piss-poor seals on the wall, and even the two ANBU in the corners of this room."

Said ANBU appeared and rushed the two with swords. However, Gekidou sprang into action, and slammed his hands into their chests. "Fuuin Jutsu: Mahi (11)!" he grunted, and the two ANBU dropped to the ground. He then walked over to a wall, and slammed his hand into it, and grunted, "Fuuin: Kai!" Three seals appeared, and dissolved. "Now," said Geiruudou, gazed impassively at the three elders. "Can we talk sensibly?"

Koharu and Homura were about to speak, when Sarutobi said "Enough. I was there, and he _is_ her son." This caused the two to glower at their friend, but they held their tongues. Sarutobi turned to the assembled and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Why no one seems to know who we are, and yet they display our sigil with no problems?" said Gekidou.

"The knowledge was buried," said Koharu. "We were unsure if the boy actually was an Uzumaki, though it appears he has gained red hair from nowhere. Should he have been proven to be one, the knowledge would have been resurrected."

"That is flawed," said Shino. "The Senju Clan was discussed, and the Uzumaki were kin to them. Plenty is known about the Senju for obvious reasons, but no mention of the Uzumaki was ever made."

"Because they fell and were dispersed," said Homura. "There was no point in lecturing about a clan that was down to one known member."

"Then we will be retrieving our sigil and other items."

"You cannot!" said Koharu sharply. "It is a symbol of Konoha-"

"Loaned to you by the Uzumaki as a sign of friendship and the union between our villages," interrupted Geiruudou. "And suspiciously, this friendship was nowhere to be found in our time of need, and even less so now. We are within our rights to take what is ours, and declare you Oathbreakers."

That caused an uproar from Koharu and Homura. "It is not our fault we were waylaid by Yugakure and Takigakure on the way to your village, and when we got there, the fighting was done!" said Koharu.

"In addition," said Homura, "we had neither the time nor the resources to search for Uzumaki afterwards!"

"And yet you've had time to send shinobi to plunder our village," retorted Geiruudou, showing some emotion; annoyance. "The seafloor is littered with the bones of those who tried, and were repelled by the seals."

That actually caused the clan Genin to glare at the elders. To attempt to take advantage of an ally's fall to ransack their village was the epitome of disgrace.

Hiruzen frowned. "I may be old, but I have a sharp memory," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I do not recall sending any Konoha-nin to Uzushio, nor would I, in memory of Mito-sama."

"I know," said Geiruudou, nodding in his direction. "Yet you have avoided the question. Our history should have been taught on the basis of the sigil that every Konoha flak jacket. Why is it not?"

"Because of Naruto-kun," said Hiruzen.

"Me?" asked Naruto, in shock.

"The new Jounin and Chuunin may not remember, but there are those that do," said Hiruzen. "Especially in the other villages. The Uzumaki have many enemies who would stop at nothing to ensure that any Uzumaki they find could be converted, and if not, the killed. And we do have a group dedicated to searching for survivors, so we can bring them here. That is why no one knows... for his own protection. Even if he didn't look the part, the others would might take the chance to find out if it was true... especially Kumogakure."

Gekidou and Geiruudou glanced at each other. "The explanation is satisfactory," said Geiruudou, turning back. "Now our request is to stay and guard our reclaimed heir."

"Why should we?" asked Homura. "What guarantee can you give us that that is all you will do?"

"This," said Gekidou, bringing out a scroll and unsealing Hakaiteki. As the three elders gazed in shock, Geiruudou undid the sealing on the two ANBU, who stood hesitantly and looked to the elders.

"That's the..." started Koharu, her voice shaking.

"Yes."

"How did..." began Homura.

"A long and painful story we have no wish to go through, again" said Geiruudou. "Suffice to say, the Moujuu will trouble the world no more."

The three looked at each other. "Very well," said Homura. "You may stay, and we acknowledge Uzumaki Naruto as a true Uzumaki. However, everything discussed here is an S-Rank secret, punishable by imprisonment of all who spoke of it."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Naruto. "Why!?"

"To preserve the peace," said Koharu. "Until such a time when you can be deemed worthy enough to be considered a clan head, you are forbidden from discussing the possible rebirth of the Uzumaki Clan to anyone who's not approved, to include the civilians and the unaffliated shinobi. All of you," she said, directing the statement to everyone else.

"We are willing to make concessions, however," said Hiruzen. "Should you reach Chuunin, then you will be worthy to reestablish the Uzumaki here, if you wish, and the S-Rank sealing will be broken. We will readily acknowledge you as Naruto-san's cousins who were discovered on the mission, but no mention of the Uzumaki rebirth can be made, and you will be provided for by the Uzumaki funds still remaining, which is quite sizable. In addition, you can stay at the apartment complex Naruto-kun lives at."

Gekidou and Geiruudou walked over to Naruto and pulled him into their circle. After tense moments, the three faced them and Geiruudou spoke for them. "We have an accord. But we will not remove our hitai-ate's, as that would dishonor our village." At Hiruzen hesitant nod, he then released the barrier. Instantly, the three ANBU outside surrounding them, until Hiruzen raised a hand. "The issue has been resolved," he said. "Return to your posts."

The five ANBU saluted, and disappeared.

"The rest of you are dismissed."

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"I think that went well," said Gekidou, as the group walked down the street.

"Yeah, except the part where we can't say anything about our family to anybody," griped Naruto.

"Lighten up," said Kiba. "At least you're not alone."

"Yeah," said Sasuke. "With me, it's down to me and mother."

Naruto stiffened. He had to get to Sasuke's mom and tell her the message. Of course, he reasoned, it had to be when Sasuke wasn't around, otherwise that would be a pain in the ass to deal with. He then noticed Geiruudou looking toward the west of the village. "What's up?"

"One more thing," he muttered, and took off.

"Wait for me, wait!" said Naruto, taking off.

"Should we follow them?" asked Sakura.

"Do what you want," said Gekidou. "Whatever it is, it must be important." With that, he took off.

Moments later found the three standing in front of a dilapidated building on the outskirts of the village, but well within the walls. It looked like a temple, but it was falling apart. The only discernible object that could be seen was the red spiral above the entrance. "What is this place?" asked Naruto.

"It's here," said Geiruudou. "Just like Mito-sama said it was."

"Don't go in there," said Kakashi, arriving with Sakura, Sasuke, Kurenai, and Team 8. "The building's likely to fall apart."

"Don't you have homes to go to?" asked Gekidou.

"W-What is th-this place?" asked Hinata nervously. "It f-feels... cold."

"An abandoned temple, it looks like," said Kiba, stroking the whimpering Akamaru.

"Forbidden to outsiders," said Geiruudou, as he walked in, followed by Naruto.

"Naruto!" yelled Sakura. "Kakashi-sensei said-"

"Let him," said Gekidou, as Geki dropped off of his back and crouched next to his partner. "Better he learn something about his family."

Inside, Naruto and Geiruudou approached an alter that had three Uzumaki spirals in triangle formation, and below it was twenty-seven demonic masks. Geiruudou pulled out a scroll and unraveled it. "Place the masks on the scroll."

Naruto created three Kage Bunshin and piled one atop the other, and picked up the masks on the left side. "What are these?"

"Spirit masks," said Geiruudou. "Long ago, spirits roamed these lands, and the Uzumaki precursors, in an effort to understand their natures, sealed some of their Reiryoku, their spiritual power, inside these masks. Each of these masks invoke a spirit, and there are nine that are very dangerous, hence why we are here." He snorted. "We're just lucky that no one found this place before we did."

Having gotten halfway through, Naruto hesitantly looked over the masks. "Which ones?"

"The middle nine," answered Geiruudou. "They each invoke a major spirit; Amaterasu, Susanoo, Tsukuyomi, Ryuujin, Inari, Fuujin, Raijin, Izanagi, and the Shinigami." At Naruto's hesitance, he added, "The masks are perfectly safe unless you put them on."

Nearly done, Naruto asked, "What happens then?"

"You can summon and control the spirit, and use whatever powers they have, at the price of sacrificing yourself to fulfill the contract."

Having finished pulling the masks down, Naruto dispelled his clones and asked, "Who would be crazy or stupid enough to do something like that?"

"A guttersnipe... someone who is truly desperate to accomplish some end." That being said, he put his hands in the Ram Seal, and muttered "Fuuin." The masks disappeared in a blast of smoke into the scroll, and he rolled it up. "I will keep this," he said. "Tell them our task is done."

Naruto nodded and walked outside. "Ruudou says he's done."

"What were you doing in there?" asked Sasuke.

"Retrieving some stuff that was too dangerous to leave around," said Naruto.

"You're obligated to tell us," said Kurenai.

"The less you know, the better off you'll be," said Geiruudou, walking out quickly. "Incidentally, you may want to move back a little."

"Why?" asked Sakura. "What did you do?"

"**Moooove**," growled Naga from around Geiruudou's shoulders. Immediately after he said that, the temple began to rumble and shake, before collapsing inward.

"That was your place," said Sakura. "Why did you destroy it?"

"It was bound to collapse anyway," said Gekidou. "We just sped up the process. In any case, time for us to go."

"See you tomorrow," said Sasuke, immediately leaving. Sakura went after him. Kakashi waved and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"All things considered," said Kurenai, "that joint-mission was a good experience. We should do it again." She frowned at Naruto, who stiffened. "I'll be watching you when the time comes," she added, before walking off.

"Catch you guys later!" said Kiba, running off with Akamaru behind him.

"Don't you think you should escort the little lady home?" nudged Gekidou. "We can wait at the center of the village." And before Naruto could say anything, the two Uzumaki disappeared.

Shino nodded his head at the two, and said, "Take care of my teammate," before walking off.

Naruto looked at the reddening Hinata, and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, let's get you home," he said. He extended his hand, and Hinata tentatively reached for it. When she clasped his hand, he pulled her gently in the direction of the village. As they walked in silence, they couldn't help but redden a little, the circumstances of the early morning resurging. "So," he said slowly, as the lights came on. "What are you going to tell your family?"

"Th-that we completed the m-mission successfully," she said. "A-and I have to t-tell them the f-fate of Hyuuga Hyouma-san."

"Whose that?"

"H-he was the strongest B-branch Member after my uncle, H-Hizashi," she answered, a sad look appearing on her face. "He disappeared b-before I was born, and w-we now know why."

"I hope everything goes well," said Naruto.

Time found that they arrived at the Hyuuga Compound after several minutes. "Here we are," said Naruto. Then, surprising her and himself, he engulfed her in a hug. "Stay safe," he said to the hyperventilating girl, and ran off to find his cousins.

Hinata looked after him, then with a small smile on her face, entered the compound.

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(1) Hakaiteki = Devastate

(2) Moujuu = Beast of Prey (loosely)

(3) Kyouboujin = Savage Men

(4) Doton: Dosekiryuu = Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon

(5) Katon: Zukkoku = Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work

(6) Futton = Boil Release; works similar to corrosive steam, and a fusion of Fire and Water Release natures

(7) Doton: Domu = Earth Release: Earth Spear

(8) Katon: Hi Rei no Jutsu = Fire Release: Fire Soul Technique; the user envelops themself in fire that takes the shape of an animal, usually a bird, dragon, or a tiger, and blasts/burns/devastates anything in their path. A short to mid-range technique, but high A-Low S-Rank due to the chakra and nature requirement

(9) Juujin Yuugou = Man Beast Fusion; the user and their animal companion fuse to create a humanoid version of the animal capable of the animal's abilities as well as the users

(10) Fuuin Jutsu: Jinheki = Sealing Technique: Barrier Encampment Wall

(11) Fuuin Jutsu: Mahi = Sealing Technique: Paralysis

Well people, another chapter down, and we're finally back to Konoha. Next chapter is the start of the Chuunin Exams, and things will really diverge from the original. What took me was that I was debating whether or not to do a flashback battle sequence of the attempt to retake Uzushio, but I decided against. I hope Tenzen Kyou was a satisfactory diversion, and I would like to hear comments on him. As you can see, I'm taking recent revelations from the latest manga chapters, and switching stuff up, because its all a part of my grand master plan.

To answer a review on why I did not include Kumogakure on the villages that attacked Uzushio, it is because in addition to the research I had to do to properly put together a worthy war scene, I ended up looking up to see if any villages were actually confirmed.

Turns out none were. I guess Kishimoto wanted us to make up our own conclusions. Hence why I picked just Kiri and Iwa, because they are the ones more likely to do anything to hinder Konoha by taking out a close ally. It wouldn't benefit Kumo to join the attack, because they would want intact Uzumaki, and the Uzumaki were making every attempt to take their enemies down with them.

In regards to Haku, I wanted her to grow on her own in a unique way, and she couldn't do that in Konoha hanging around Naruto. I wish I could find a way to fit her in, but events in the coming chapters require her to not be around.

In regards to the summons, it is a part of my grand master plan, locked within the recesses of my mad mind. *cackles insanely* Guess their inspiration.

Finally, two points: First, I was determined on sending an Uzumaki with them to Konoha, I was just hung up on who. Daikani was my first choice, but that would have caused more problems than it would have solved, in the form of lots of injured or dead people by an insane and kin-loyal Uzumaki. Tsurina would just be a spoiler for the shinobi, so that was a no. The same with Joumaru, since he is half-Akimichi, and would be kin to Chouji and Chouza, so if he went, I would have had to have him learn Akimichi techniques, which made me cringe a little. As fun as that would be, I decided on Gekidou and Geiruudou; Geiruudou was made clear, and Gekidou because he's the strongman of the seven, next to Joumaru. Toma and Saitou were out of the running, period.

Second, the other clans of Uzushio might make periodic appearances in the future. And remember Yuugo and Mana, they are kinda important, but not 'til later. But it is a plot point.

Well, that's about it for now. Keep them reviews coming!


	4. The Path to Power Part I

Howdy folks, Dez Guardius here. It's cool seeing the responses, although the only thing I have to complain about are the lack of reviews. They feed me... at least for the time being! At the very least, I'm trying to set a goal of 35-45 reviews before I put up the next chapter, which is in the works.

A couple of you complained about the overabundance of OCs. Well, that's part of the build-up, showing the diversity of the Uzumaki, as well as jumping on the Iwa-nin boogeyman bandwagon. Seriously, some of the stuff I read has a Team 7 meet an Iwagakure nuke-nin called the Stone Bear/Stone Lion/Lightning Lion/Lightning Bear, etc. I don't mean that it's a bad thing, I just went with a boogeyman that would be the epitome of "War is Hell," and gauging whether or not you readers like him, which could mean either Tenzen will stay dead, or if he makes a reappearance. The other OCs, namely the three Juujin Clan members, are a bit of a plot point, at least Kira is, since I'm fixing to hook her up with Shino. The Juujin mounts Mana and Yuugo are plot points, to the point where something about them will make a reappearance later on. As for the Bakuha Butai, the manga/anime just said that Gari was the definite leader of the group, but never said how many members there were or who they were. I doubt anyone paid attention to Mai, so here's the hint: Blonde hair + blue eyes + Bakuton Kekkei = A certain bomb-happy nuke-nin. Saizuchi was there just to say that the Kinjutsu that said nuke-nin had was likely used before. Ango and Makoto were just there to be there, since I decided to make the Bakuha Butai a five-person team. Besides them, and the Kyouboujin, everyone else existed. Tokara was in a Chuunin exam on a team with Hayate and Ibiki, so I just tried to resolve his disappearance.

Just a reminder, the shinobi world will be portrayed as it is in the map so graciously provided by xShadowRebirthx, at /Elemental-Nations-Geographical-Map-317422439

Thanks to you all, and on with the show!

Blah Human dialogue

**Blah** Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 4: The Path To Power - The Chuunin Exams Part 1

_He ran. He ran, panting and sobbing as his pursuers hooted and hollered, visibly and soundly drunk. Sometimes it sucked being short, especially when just about everyone hates your guts. He dropped, letting out a cry of pain, as a bottle hit the back of his head._

_"I got him!" shouted someone. They crowded around him, those nine drunken Konoha citizens, and started kicking him. "Why are you crying?" a hate-filled face sneered. "This is what you deserve!"_

_"W-why?" he gasped out in pain. _

_"After what you did, you ask why!?" snarled a woman with a hitai-ate. She delivered a kick that made him gasp in pain. "We should asking why! Why are you still-"_

_She was cut off by a gasp of pain, a sickening squelch of metal piercing flesh, and two serrated curved blades protruded from her chest. She gazed down in shock at them, then coughed up blood, and expired. Her companions had stared blearily at their companion, before turning to the owner of the blades, who pulled them out of the now-dead shinobi. Unfortunately for them, all they could see was the silhouette of a woman, her red hair cut level with her chin with two locks in front of her ears, wielding a pair of glowing red eyes. Suddenly, their vision went dark, and they heard a voice sneer, "Lament your stupidity in hell," before they all began dropping._

_Naruto faded in an out of consciousness, his ordeal over, for the moment. He felt arms pick him up, and carry him away. Before he finally fell unconscious, he heard a soft female voice say, "Worry not, young one... You are safe for now..."_

_He was straining to hold on, to keep listening to that comforting voice. "Ho... s... he?" asked a soft voice, so soft that he couldn't tell whether it was male or female._

_"Hur... ut hea...ng..." he heard. "You... ve your wi...ow, Hi...k... Help us... nd we... hel... ou..."_

Naruto shot awake. and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't had any dreams like that in years. He frowned. Feh, more like memories. He sighed. At the very least, as uncommon as that was before, nothing like that happened anymore. He jumped at the sound of blows hitting the door. "Rise and shine, cousin!" came Gekidou's voice. Naruto glanced at the clock. 6:01AM.

"My team doesn't meet until 7:00AM," he shot back, pulling the pillow over his face. He winced at the sound of the lock smashing, and then yelped as cold water was dumped on him. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" he yelled.

"The early bird gets the worm," smirked Gekidou, holding the empty bucket.

"Unless the worm decides to sleep in," shot back Naruto, as he pulled himself out of bed.

"Yeah, well this worm is going to be taught Fuuin jutsu," said Gekidou. "You're an Uzumaki, you need to know this."

Minutes later found a now-Naruto and Gekidou sitting at a table with scrolls, paintbrushes, and an inkwell. "First things first," said Gekidou. "What can you tell me about Fuuin Jutsu?"

Naruto furrowed his brow. "You can use Fuuin Jutsu to seal things and unseal them, right?"

Gekidou nodded. "A general answer. A better one is that you can use it on any object, be it inanimate or animate. With the proper medium, which can be anything from scrolls to metal to flesh, you can use Fuuin Jutsu to enhance the quality of something, preserve something for the future, repress something, destroy something utterly, control something, or basic storage."

Naruto wished that the Academy had described things like this; short, sweet, and to the point. "What about unsealing?"

Gekidou raised an eyebrow. "If you know the original sealing formula to the locked object, then it is possible. For basic storage, it's easy. Why?"

"Just wondering," Naruto answered. "I mean, I've heard that it is possible to seal crap like demons and people into things, but what would happen if someone tried unsealing them?"

"Any number of things," said Gekidou. "But first and foremost, if something living is sealed away, there has to be a reason. And the only time a person would undo a demon sealing would be if they were suicidal. Are you suicidal?"

"Hell, no," said Naruto. "I just wanted to know what type of person would do such a thing. Anyway, what can you teach me?"

"Fuuin Jutsu requires precision and patience, because a single screw-up can undo a long, hard day's work. Plus, you need to know what you're doing as well, otherwise you'll screw up."

Naruto nodded.

"That being said, meditation is a good way of building up patience, so meditate for an hour when you wake up," said Gekidou. He pulled out a book, and handed it to him. The title was "The Idiot's Guide to Fuuin Jutsu". "Read through that, and then I or Geiruudou will quiz you. Then the training can begin."

Naruto nodded and cast a glance at the clock, which read 7:45AM. He cursed and threw on his blue jumpsuit, attached the scroll to his back, and was out the door. Gekidou watched him go, then looked to the window. Geiruudou was looking back at him, and Gekidou opened the window. "So what do you think?" he asked.

"He has potential," said Geiruudou. "He has the willingness to learn, but I think it best to avoid teaching him the Fuuin Jutsu for large sealings. He might get some bad ideas, which could lead to ruin."

"What about Ku-?"

"One thing at a time, brother," Geiruudou interrupted. "One thing at a time."

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Uchiha Mikoto sat at the kitchen table, a sad look on her face. "Another day, another batch of refusals," The Uchiha matriarch mused, looking the various letters assigned to her. They ranged from marriage proposals to date invites, from various men across the village. She snorted. They didn't want her for her per se, they wanted to get in the good graces of the Uchiha, or at least, the two that left. She knew, as she walked about the village, what they really wanted. Even after having two children and regulating herself from shinobi life to being a housewife, she made sure to keep her body in trim and fighting form, though no one could tell due to the kimono she wore that hid her figure. She had no amount of vanity, but she was proud of her 34.1-24-34.1 inch frame, topped by long black hair that went to her shoulders, and soft black eyes that radiated warmth. About the only ones hotter than her prime back when she was a shinobi were Hyuuga Hikari and Uzumaki Kushina.

She sighed sadly. Poor Kushina. She was saddened by the loss of her friend, in more ways than one. The two of them were close... too close, Fugaku thought, thanks to Minato. She chuckled darkly. Fugaku thought Minato was trying to seduce his wife, when the man was a total boy scout. It was Kushina that he should have been worrying about. She and Mikoto had a... relationship going back before she was contracted to marry Fugaku, one that started on a mission. She had always admired Kushina's hair, and the woman it was attached to. Likewise, Kushina admired her willingness to fight without the Sharingan, and one night, on a mission, it just clicked. The two of them woke up smelling like sweat and sex, but no shame. Both were lonely; Minato was playing student to Jiraiya-sama and she had gotten out of a stalled relationship. For a time, they were happy, and if Jiraiya-sama had known about them, he would have been _very_ happy. And well, hugging led to an experimental kiss, which led to hot and heavy kissing, which escalated to... She reddened at the memories.

But alas, all good things must come to an end, and they went their own ways when they were engaged. They stayed in touch, and helped each other along when their respective men were out and about.

Then the Kyuubi attack happened. When it appeared, she and Fugaku ran to the Naka Shrine under the compound to try to find an answer of stopping it. By the time they found an inkling of a solution, it was too late. Minato and Kushina were dead, and little Naruto was turned into a Jinchuuriki, destined for a hard life. She frowned at the hypocrisy of Konoha. They love the father and shun the son, the only thing standing between them and a gruesome death at the hands of a giant angry fox. She, along with members of the other clans, not including the Kurama clan, petitioned the Hokage to allow Naruto into their home for protection, but were denied, with the given reason being that it would place too much power in one clan. To make matters worse, the shinobi knew that only two things could control a Bijuu; the Mokuton, which actually pacified them and was lost with the Shodai, and the Sharingan, which could actually control them. To that end, suspicion was placed on them once everything was assessed and clean up was started. They tried to prove their worth, to show that they weren't responsible, but then the Hyuuga Affair happened.

That was the breaking point. If the Police couldn't stop the Ambassador from Kumogakure from infiltrating the Hyuuga Clan grounds, then how could they keep the village secure? Fugaku told them that the police had their eyes on the Ambassador at all times at his hotel, and that the only way he could have been able to do what he did was by a Bunshin that he create before he entered. Alas, the damage was done, and their reputation was tarnished. They were essentially isolated in the Uchiha sector, not at first, but it happened. And that was what led Fugaku to begin his mad plan...

Mikoto was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on the front door. She made her way to the door, and opened it, revealing the panting Naruto. "Naruto-kun?" she questioned. "Are you all right?"

"I'm here to get Sasuke," he said.

"Sasuke-kun left a while ago," she said, sighing a little. Ever since the massacre, Sasuke had been throwing himself into training, citing that he needed to get strong to protect the two of them and revenge themselves on his brother. It was admirable, but he grew more and more distant from her, which was unbearable as a mother.

"Crap," said Naruto. He turned around to leave, but stopped and turned back. "Before I forget, she loves you, Miko-chan," he said, confused as to how she would react.

Mikoto stared at him. "Where did you hear that?" she whispered.

"In a letter from my kaa-san, Uzumaki Ku-"

"Kushina," she ended. "Wait here," she said, then walked away. A few minutes later, she returned with a book; a journal. "Kushina-chan gave this to me for safe keeping," she said, giving him the book. "It's blood-sealed, so no one except another Uzumaki, namely you, can open it."

"How did you know her?"

"She was, and still is, my best friend." 'And secret lover,' she thought. No need to let him know that.

Naruto furrowed his brow. "Wait, if you two were friends, then why didn't-"

"We couldn't take you in," she said, foreseeing where the conversation was going. "None of the clans could. The decision was made by the Primary Council, to avert too much power being placed into one clan. However, I did try to help out, when I could."

Naruto frowned, both at how he was cheated out of having a foster family, and at the sparse positive memories that he had. He could vaguely recalled Mikoto-san helping him though, but...

"Crap!" he muttered, realizing that time was a-wastin'. "I've got to meet up with my team. Can you tell me more about her later?"

"Of course," she said, and waved him off. "Oh Kushina-chan," she said, as she watched him go. "Your boy's turning into a fine shinobi. In spite of everything, you'd be proud."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura found themselves waiting for Kakashi to arrive. When he did, he greeted them with an eye-smile and a hearty "Yo!" At the silence, he opened his eye to see them giving him serious looks. "Okay, what's going on? Is this an intervention?"

"No, sensei," said Sakura. "We want you to make us stronger."

"We were woefully unprepared for that mission," said Sasuke. "We were underpowered and we don't want that to happen again."

"Is there anything you can do to help us, that's not Chakra Control exercises?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi pondered and pondered, until his ponderer was sore, and exhaled. "I was going to do this when you got stronger, but if you insist..." He reached into his pouch behind him, then stopped. "Know this," he said. "This is normally done with Chuunin-level shinobi and above. If we start, we will not stop until you get it. If you quit, you will not be allowed to continue this training until you reach Chuunin. Understand?"

The Genin had never seen him this severe. Sure, he was severe when Team 7 came into being, but this sounded like he was going to do something that might end up maiming or killing them.

"I'm in," said Naruto.

"Like hell I'm letting the dobe get this alone," said Sasuke. "Count me in."

"I'll do it, too!" said Sakura. "The mission showed me that I'm the weakest member of the team, and I don't want to be weak anymore."

Kakashi nodded, and revealed what he had reached for; four pieces of paper. "These are papers from a very special tree, a tree nourished by chakra. It helps tell your Chakra Nature."

Sakura furrowed her brow. "I've never heard of that."

"I'd expect not," said Kakashi. "This kind of training is generally reserved for Chuunin and above, because of how grueling it is." He gave them each a paper. "Concentrate your chakra into the paper, and it will reveal your nature. There are primarily five natures; Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. These basic types give us the names of the five great nations, what the people in them are likely to use, and form the basis for all Ninjutsu. Generally, everyone fulfills one of those categories; for example," he motioned to Sasuke, "The Uchiha Clan had fire natured chakra, so they were exceptionally skilled in Katon Ninjutsu."

Sasuke nodded. "Performing the Goukakyuu no Jutsu at a young age was a right of passage."

"There are different reactions depending on the nature you have," said Kakashi, raising his paper. Before the Genin's eyes, the paper crinkled. "As you can see, my paper crinkled, showing that I have a base Lightning chakra nature."

The three Genin held their respective papers, and loosed a burst of chakra. Sakura had her paper grow sopping wet, and the corners crumbled. Sasuke had his paper crinkle up, and disappear in a good-sized burst of flame. Naruto had his paper split in two, then the left half slightly crinkled, and the right half grew soggy.

"What does that mean?" asked Naruto, as Sakura and Sasuke stared at his.

Kakashi blinked. Then blinked again. Then walked over to a tree, and began banging his head against it. "It's... not... fair..." he groaned with each blow. "Why... did I... have to... get... the most... troublesome... Genin... of... the year?"

"Sensei?" asked Sakura nervously.

Kakashi composed himself and walked over. "In order," he said. "Sakura, you have a strong Water nature, and a weak Earth nature. That could likely meaning you'll be a healer and a fighter, both strong and gentle." As Sakura beamed, Kakashi moved on. "Sasuke, you have an equally strong Lightning and Fire nature, which are both for mass destruction." Sasuke smirked. 'The power of the Uchiha remains strong through me,' he thought.

"Naruto, you are a problem," said Kakashi, turning to his last student. "You have a strong Wind nature, and moderate Water and Lightning natures. So far, you are a rarity on two levels, as a Wind nature in Hi no Kuni and as a triple nature wielder. With Wind, you can cut and sever anything, and as unpredictable as Lightning, but as gentle as Water. But the problem is controlling and using the right element."

Naruto swore, loudly and colorfully, causing Sakura to blush and Sasuke and Kakashi to cringe. "First, I can't use the damn Bunshin, now this!"

"About that," said Kakashi. "I'm annoyed no one picked up on that. The short version is that you simply have too much chakra to use a regular Bunshin, so you can throw out Kage Bunshin like nobody's business. You have even more chakra than me."

"That's crap!" said Sakura.

"No it's not," said Kakashi. "Kage Bunshin distribute all of the user's chakra even amongst the Bunshin. I can only use ten, maybe fifteen at max. Naruto, on the other hand, throws out at least thirty and is still fighting fit, and he does it excessively. I think it might have affected his Henge, too. But moving on," he said, "Now that we know your natures, we need to work on helping you make full use of your natures."

"How do we do that?" asked Sakura.

Kakashi handed Sakura and Naruto leaves the size of the cards. "You're each going to use your elements to effect the leaves," he said. "That means that Sakura, you'll have to pull the moisture out of the leaf. Naruto, you'll have to cut the leaf with wind chakra. Sasuke, you already have experience with fire, so I have something else for you to do." He walked a few feet away, flashed through hand seals, and slammed his hands into the ground, causing a rock wall to rise. "I want you to pierce this wall with Lightning chakra."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" asked Sasuke incredulously.

"It has to do with the elemental natures, and their own strengths and weaknesses. Lightning beats Earth, Earth beats Water, Water beats Fire, Fire beats Wind, and Wind beats Lightning," said Kakashi.

"Ha!" yelled Naruto. "I can beat you two ways, teme!"

"But what does that mean for me?" asked Sakura. "How can I manage two contradictory elements?"

"The Shodai Hokage managed just fine," said Kakashi.

"But he had the Mokuton," said Naruto. "I remember that much from the lectures. And where does that fit on the elements?"

"It doesn't," replied Kakashi. "Can anyone tell me why?" At their silence, he answered. "Mokuton is actually an Advanced Nature Kekkei Genkai, created by fusing two elements together to create a new one. In the case of Mokuton, an equilibrium is reached between Earth and Water, and the two combine to make Mokuton. You've seen another example, with Haku."

"Her Hyouton?" asked Sasuke. "What was that made of?"

"Wind and Water," answered Kakashi. "However, that doesn't mean that just because you have two natures that you'll instantly develop an Elemental Kekkei. In the case of Haku and the Shodai, they were likely born with those two natures, whereas others have to work at it. For example, I can use four of the five natures, thanks to hard work and the Sharingan I was given, but I will never be able to use an Elemental Kekkei."

"What about me?" asked Naruto. "What am I supposed to do with three natures?"

"Work hard," said Kakashi. "Unlike me, you and Sakura were born with your natures, and I have no idea how that is possible, but equalizing them will take years. Ironically, there is only one Elemental Kekkei that uses three natures, and it is in Iwa no Kuni. It's the only Kekkei Touta (1) in the world, and it uses Earth, Wind, and Fire to create Jinton; Dust Release. The only known users are the Nidaime and Sandaime Tsuchikage. But I'm moving off subject; it is highly unlikely that either of you will move on from being able to use the elements easily, but at least you have the capacity to use them. Now let's get to work."

xxxxxxxxxxx

A full month passed, and Team 7 worked hard. It took two weeks, but ironically Sakura got her Water Nature training down first, followed by Sasuke with his Lightning Nature training. As rewards, Kakashi gave them low-rank jutsu to work on. Naruto, on the other hand, had a harder time, in between his Fuuin Jutsu training and trying to get a handle on his Wind Nature training. After three weeks passed, he received help from Gekidou, in the form of finding the secret to Kage Bunshin.

"So what's this about you having three elements?" asked Gekidou as the two sat outside the apartment complex after Naruto showed his Fuuin Jutsu knowledge by sealing, unsealing, and resealing Kubikiri Boucho.

"I've got Wind, Water, and Lightning," said Naruto. "My main is wind, and according to sensei, I have a moderate water and Lightning. He told me that the only wind user around is some guy named Asuma, but first I have to cut a leaf with my wind. How can I do it?"

Gekidou thought and said, "Did your sensei ever tell you about any other training methods?"

"Between the elemental training, he taught was water walking," said Naruto. "I'm getting that down, but that's about it."

"So you were never told about Kage Bunshin?"

"Just that it's a Kinjutsu because of the chakra requirement, and that I'm the only one in the village that can abuse it like I do. Why?"

Gekidou nodded and stood. "Create one and have it follow me." Naruto did so, and the Bunshin followed Gekidou around the corner of the apartment complex. Naruto waited, but then he let out a strangled gasp and dropped to his knees, clutching his crotch. Gekidou reappeared and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Why would you do that!?" cried Naruto, rolling onto his back and clutching his junk. "I barely got away from Kurenai-sensei with my goods attached! Why would you Roshambo me!?" At Gekidou's raised eyebrow, Naruto realized it. "Wait, how did I know that?" he asked, standing shakily to his feet.

"That is the secret of Kage Bunshin," said Gekidou. "The user experiences everything the Bunshin did. Kage Bunshin was initially a scout Ninjutsu that the Uzumaki shared with Konoha, and was used to find and uncover traps and ambushes. It can be used for training purposes as well. If you use two clones, it'll cut your training time in half. Three will make it 1/3, four will make it 1/4, and so on."

"What if I could make fifty clones?" asked Naruto. "How much time would that take?"

"Several days," came Geiruudou's voice, as he walked up, with Naga draped around his shoulders. "That's what makes Kage Bunshin so dangerous... you could exhaust yourself to death. How many can you make?"

Naruto put his finger to his chin. "Well, when I first learned the jutsu, I think I made about a thousand. Lately, I've been hanging around making in between thirty and fifty... but I get what you're saying. If I use a little less than my max number, then I won't kill myself from an information overload. Got it." He was about to head off, before Geiruudou grabbed his shoulder. "Not so fast," said the covered Uzumaki. "You need to increase your knowledge as well. We don't need you embarrassing yourself and us from a lack of knowledge. You could do something idiotic and mistake a pregnant woman for a fat woman."

"Bwah?"

"See what I mean," said Geiruudou, shaking his head. "Time to take you to the library."

"NOOO!" cried Naruto as his cousins hoisted him up.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of days later found the titular member of Team 7 making his way to the team meeting place, stronger and smarter than before. When he got there, he saw Sasuke leaning against the railing, looking as bored as hell. 'Hell, I'll be bored too after that mission and nonstop training,' thought Naruto, as he sat on the railing. Sakura wasn't there, and he thought that that was odd, considered she arrived around the time Sasuke normally did...

"Sasuke-kun!" he heard Sakura saw, and he turned his head to greet her, in spite of who she aimed her call to. The words never got out, because he was now stared at what she was wearing.

Sakura was wearing what looked like a modified version of her outfit; she wore a sleeveless dark red dress that was slightly flared, revealing the bottoms of her black shorts, black gloves and dark red arm warmers, red shin-guards that had the Haruno Clan circle near the tops, and her hair done into a ponytail. On her back was a one-strapped backpack that held her supplies, while the kunai and shuriken packs had been sewn into the sides of the dress.

"Damn," he swore, tilting his head. "You look great, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blushed lightly and delivered a punch, which Naruto dodged. "BAKA!" she growled. "I said Sasuke, not you."

Sasuke snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Now you look a little like a true kunoichi," he said, causing Sakura to blush. A full two hours passed before Kakashi appeared. Kakashi gazed at Sakura for a moment, his only seeable eyebrow raised, then turned to face his team as a whole. "Yo."

"You're late!" yelled Naruto and Sakura.

"Sorry, I had stomach trouble," he said, telling the truth for once. Naruto and Sakura decided to leave that one alone. "Good news, everyone. I have a meeting to attend, so you're free for the rest of the day." And with a puff of smoke, he was gone."

Sasuke walked off, presumably to do his own thing, and Naruto and Sakura were left there. "Well, that was a waste of time," said Naruto, as he turned to Sakura. "Wanna go train?"

She hesitated, then answered "Sure, I need to get stronger, anyway." Later found them walking along towards an undisclosed training ground, when Sakura spotted a square rock following them. "Naruto," she said, pulling his sleeve. "Is it just me, or is there a square rock following us?"

Naruto almost cried. "If we pretend it's not there, it'll go away."

This philosophy seemed fine, but the square rock still followed them. Sighing, Naruto turned around and crossed his arms. "When is a rock ever a perfect square, Konohamaru?"

As soon as he said that, the rock blew apart, revealing three children. Konohamaru was one of them, and he was accompanied by a boy with glasses, a nose-dripping, and a long-sleeved sweater; and a ginger-haired girl with a permanent blush and her hair pulled back in pigtails.

"Konohamaru!" said the Sandaime's grandson, getting into a stance. The ginger-haired girl got into a stance as well, and said, "Moegi!" The glasses kid said, "Udon!", and as one, the three kids yelled, "Together we are… the Konohamaru Corps!"

Naruto and Sakura gazed at the three, shocked at their antics. "It feels I'm dying inside," whispered Naruto to Sakura. "What did you do to them?" Sakura whispered back. "Nothing," said Naruto. "That's the worst part."

"Hey taicho!" said Konohamaru, pointing at Naruto. "You said you'd play Ninja with us today! Please?"

Naruto, resigned to his fate, sighed. "Okay, but not for long," he said, ignoring Sakura's complaint of "What kind of ninja plays Ninja?".

Konohamaru did a little victory dance, which made Naruto and Sakura sweat-drop. Then, it was as if Konohamaru saw Sakura for the first time. "Hey, taicho, who's the lady?" Grinning, he held up his pinky. "Is she your… this?"

Naruto cast a glance at Sakura, and knew that this had to be defused, and quick. "No," he said. "She's got the hots for another guy."

"Just as well, taicho." said Konohamaru, crossing his arms. "You could do than that flat-chested big-forehead teammate of yours…"

Naruto paled and glanced at Sakura. She was smiling sweetly… a little _too_ sweetly, with her left eye twitching. "Konohamaru," he said, inching away. "Start running."

Konohamaru paled, and took off, Moegi and Udon falling behind him. He knew the rage of girls was insatiable, and he knew he was as good as dead, Sandaime's grandson or not.

His thoughts were halted as he ran into a wall. Wait, it wasn't a wall, it was some guy dressed in a black outfit with a red and yellow symbol on front, a strange object on his back wrapped in bandages, strange purple marking on his face, and a cat-like headpiece that bore the hitai-ate of Sunagakure. Next to the guy was a girl with a fan on her back, her blonde hair pulled back in four ponytails, and a bored look on her face.

The shinobi Konohamaru ran into, now dubbed "Batman" by Naruto, picked up Konohamaru by the front of his scarf, and growled out, "That hurt, you little shit…"

"Don't," said his blonde teammate, looking around. "We'll get in trouble."

"Damn straight," said Naruto, stepping forward.

"Batman" glanced at Naruto, and then saw Sakura. Opening one eye wide, he grinned. "Hey, foxy lady… care to dine?"

"Ugh," went his teammate, rubbing her head. Her brother was a sucker for a pretty girl.

Naruto stood in front of Sakura, baring his fangs. "Back off, Batman, she's my teammate."

Temari, the blonde, tilted her head. "That blonde's kinda cute, in a feral sort of way."

Naruto ran at Kankurou, the one in black, and suddenly tripped. "Leaf Genin," said Kankurou grinning, "are WEAK."

He suddenly found a large blade at his neck, and he looked down to see the blonde holding a massive sword at his throat. "You need to pay attention," said Naruto. "And I can see that you're a puppet user."

Kankurou blanched, as did Temari, when they saw Naruto. And they saw the Naruto on the ground poof into smoke. Temari found herself being touched from behind, and turned to see the blonde that had the sword in front of Kankurou behind her. With a kunai aimed at her. "What are you doing in our village?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

Kankurou was not impressed. "Get away from my sister," he growled, dropping Konohamaru and reaching to pull off one of the straps on his shoulder.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"I can assume you know why you're all here," said Sandaime to the Jounin assembled before him.

"It's that time already," commented Kakashi, as a bandana-wearing senbon-chewing Jounin behind him said, "It's already been reported to the other countries, I saw them in the village. So when is it?"

"Roughly a week," said Sandaime. "So it's official. Seven days from now, on the first of July, the Chuunin Selection Exams will commence! Now that we're going to start the Chuunin Exams, those in charge of new Genin, step forward."

Only three came forth: Kakashi, Kurenai, and Saurtobi Asuma, the bearded chain-smoking son of the current Hokage.

"Are there any Genin you wish to enter into the Exam among the ones you teach?"

Kakashi started. "From the 7th Team I lead, I recommend Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Hatake Kakashi."

Kurenai went next. "From the 8th Team I lead, I recommend Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Yuuhi Kurenai."

Asuma went last, as predicted. "From the 10th Team I lead, I recommend Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji. I wish to enter them into the Chuunin Selection Exam under my name: Sarutobi Asuma."

Sandaime grinned a little. "All three have given their recommendations. It's been a while since we last had rookies appear in the Chuunin Exam."

And so, it was done. Of course, the present Umino Iruka, the only other person in the village to care about Naruto's well-being (that knew about the Kyuubi, of course), was indignant to the Rookie 9's recommendation, saying that they were too young. He was put down by Kakashi, who said that the Rookie 9 were no longer Iruka's students. "They can handle themselves, Iruka," he said with finality. "You need to stop acting like they're little children."

"I understand," said Iruka, frowning. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, with Team 7, minus one, of course, and Team Suna, minus one as well, they prepared to throw down. With a low thump, Kankurou grabbed his wrist, feeling pain. Looking in the direction it came from, he saw Uchiha Sasuke sitting on a tree branch, juggling two rocks with one hand. "What the hell are you Suna-nin doing in our village?" he asked stonily.

'He's kinda cute,' thought Temari to herself. 'What is it with this village and young hotties?' she thought, glancing back at Naruto, then back at Sasuke.

"Another guy who pisses me off," growled Kankurou, massaging his hurting wrist.

"Get lost," said Sasuke, staring impassively as Kankurou pulled off the package on his back, ignoring the warnings of his sister. Sasuke stiffened as he heard a voice behind him say, "Kankurou, stop. You're an embarrassment to our village."

Sasuke spun around to see another Suna-nin standing upside down. But this Suna-nin had an immense gourd on his back, dark red hair, black rings around his eyes, and a tattoo of the kanji "Ai" right above his left eye.

Naruto instinctively stood in front of Sakura defensively; his whiskers pronounced, his eyes turning purple with slitted pupils, and fangs lightly bared. He didn't know why or how he did it; he just knew on instinct that the redhead that smelled slightly of Tanuki and stank of blood was a threat to him packmates. He frowned. Since when did he start thinking of his team in an animalistic way?

Sakura was caught by surprise, by both Naruto and the red-haired Suna-nin. "What…" she began, but decided against saying anything else.

"Losing yourself in a fight, how pathetic…" droned the redhead, gazing impassively at his teammate. "Why do you think we're here in the first place?"

"Listen Gaara," began Kankurou, fearful for his life and pointing at the Konohamaru Corps. "They started it, and…"

"Silence," said Gaara, narrowing his eyes. "Or I'll kill you…"

"Sorry Gaara," said Kankurou, now holding up his hands in passiveness.

'So he's the leader,' thought Sasuke, watching Gaara as he sat. 'He's got strange eyes…'

"Sorry to you guys," said Gaara, disappearing in a flurry of sand and reappearing in between his teammates. Naruto moved so that Sakura was still behind him and faced the Suna-nin.

"Why are you here?" he asked bluntly. "The only reason I can think of is to improve alliances…"

"Nearly correct," said Temari. "We're here for the Chuunin Exams."

Sasuke appeared next to Naruto, and stepped forward. "You with the gourd… what is your name?"

"… Sabaku no Gaara, at your service," answered Gaara. "I am interested in both you and your teammates' names, as well."

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Gaara stared impassively at Team 7, and then muttered, "Let's go." Before the Suna-nin left, Naruto stepped forward and asked, "What is your female teammate's name? She's the only one who's name we never got."

Temari blushed and answered, "Subaku no Temari…"

Naruto bowed, and the three Suna-nin leapt off. Team 7 then went their own way, unaware of another trio of watchers; two guys and one girl, all wearing BDU-style scarves and pants. "What do you think?" asked the spiky-haired male.

His male teammate, wearing an oversized kimono top with his head wrapped by bandages except for his left eye, responded "Nothing serious… but that kid with the gourd, and those two male Konoha-nin that just left… we'd better keep an eye on them."

"What about the girl?" asked the girl, frowning at the retreating Sakura.

"She looks like a nobody," said the bandaged one. "But in our profession, ignorance can lead to ruin. We'll watch all three of them."

As the sun begin to set, many other Genin began to arrive in Konoha, such as two teams from Kusagakure; one headed by a stern-looking woman with long black hair, and another led by a girl with short red hair and glasses.

That night found Naruto gazing at the tattoo on his arm, now that he had the time to take a good look at it. Based off of everything he had been taught about Fuuin Jutsu, and the short story he was told back after the Wave Mission, this was a Summoning Tattoo. If he remembered correctly, seals like this were blood-locked... like his mother's journal. He tried to remember, did anyone he know summon?

A memory hit him... Kakashi went through hand seals, then slammed his hand, with a scroll in hand, on the ground, and a circle and lines extended from his hands on the ground.

Inhaling, he bit his finger, until blood came out. Gritting his teeth, he swiped it on the tattoo, and put a hand on the ground, sending chakra through. The circle and lines appeared, and in a puff of smoke, it appeared.

It was the size of Akamaru, with a long tan sinewy body like a snakes, ending in a bifurcated tail. It had two arms, each ending in a single claw, looking like a praying mantis' arms, and a row of spikes on going from the back of the neck to the end of the tail. Its head looked like a pink four-lobed brain, and it had a tanned beak-like mouth, with two tiny brown eyes near where the beak met the brain-like structure. It looked at him and chittered.

Naruto knelt down and looked at it. "So you're a Shouhen... you don't look so dangerous," he said. "I don't know why Toma was so uneasy around you."

The Shouhen uttered no response, but stared at him.

"So," he said. "Counting you, there's ten of you. I wonder what the other ones are..."

"**I Brain,**" came a voice. It was cold, hoarse, and more importantly, in his head.

Wide-eyed, he gazed down at it, as it slithered closer. "Was that... was that you? In my head?"

It bobbed its head once, then lowered it. Instantly, images surged through his mind, with... thought-words accompanying them. Six of the nine had the same similar head structure, namely the beaked head and small eyes.

A scaly grey man-sized Shouhen with bat-like wings, two folded arms, and three horns sweeping backwards from its head; one on top, annd one on each side of its head. It had a medium length bifurcated tail that trailed behind it. "**Flyer,**" came the thought-word.

The next that appeared had no beak. Instead, it was the size of a tiger with the body shape of a hyena; namely the muscular front end. It was tan and scaly, and walked on four lean but muscular legs; the front legs were longer than the hind legs and ended in large clawed tridactyl hands, and the hind legs were digitigraded and ended in clawed tridactyl feet. The head sat on a muscular neck, and looked like a bear's skull, with teeth bared in a perpetual grin. It had small triangular yellow eyes on the side of its head, and small nostrils near the end of the snout. "**Brawler.**"

The next one had two heads, each shaped like a heater shield, and was the size and shape of a gray wolf. It walked on four legs, each ending in a three-clawed foot, with the middle claw being large and sickle-shaped. It was brown and fleshy, and had a single tail that trailed behind it. The head's had slitted nostrils at the snouts, and triangular-shaped yellow eyes near the middle of its face. "**Hunter.**"

One twice the size of Akamaru appeared next, with two folded arms, a hunched back, and a pair of digitigraded legs with a single claw-like foot. Unlike the others, it had a single long tail, and a short parrot-like beak, and small oval nostrils near the top, and small black eyes above the nostrils. "**Fire.**"

The following one was the color of bone, flesh, and serpentine, with two folded arms. It was the size of a fox, had eight orange eyes, four lined on each side of its head, three spikes on its elbows, and four on each side of its head. A trail of spines started at the back of its neck and ended at the middle of the tail, where the tail split in two. "**Watcher.**"

The next one had an arthropod-like body type, was the size of a wolf, tiger-striped (orange and black), and walked on four legs that looked like the folded mantis arms. Strangely, it had four brown eyes near the middle of the head, and three tails; two long segmented ones, and the center tail had a scorpion's stinger at the end. "**Stinger.**"

The next one looked like a six-legged spider that was the size of a wolf, and was colored green with brown stripes. It had four dark yellow eyes near the middle of the head, and silk trailed from the end of the abdomen and from its folded arms, which had lobster-like pincers instead of the single claw the others had. "**Webber.**"

The next one was light brown, fleshy, about the size of a coyote, and shaped like a hornet. It walked on four legs that looked like the folded arms, and had tentacles with suckers attached behind each leg. Its head had what looked like eight black dreadlocks on the side of the head, and a single horn that swept backwards. It had green triangular eyes with slitted pupils, and a slightly curved stinger at the end of the abdomen. "**Breeder.**"

The final one was huge. It looked like a huge reddish-brown segmented serpent, with a heater shield-shaped dome on its head. The beak was nonexistent, looking more like a wide triangular point, and folded against its long body were two folded arms, each bearing a wickedly curved claw at the end. It had no visible eyes or nostrils, but Naruto knew that it was still able to somehow see. At the end of its tail were four spikes, each jutting backward and outward. "**Digger.**"

Naruto jumped back, breathing heavily, overwhelmed by the information. "Wow," he whispered. "No wonder Toma was so uneasy. I don't even want to know what the others were like." He sighed and crawled into bed. "I think I'll keep you out here," he said to the Brain Shouhen. "The Chuunin Exams are coming, and I'll need all the help I can get. Just remember," he said, pointing at it. "Protect the Uzumaki."

"**Protect**," it repeated in his head.

He shuddered. "That's still weird." Soon, he was lost in the land of dreams, and the Brain Shouhen stared at the medallion that Naruto kept on. It eventually curled up on his bed. "**Protect,**" it thought-whispered.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, found Naruto placed the Shouhen in a drawstring bag. "This is about the only way I can get you in," he said. "I'll try to remember you're back there." He made sure that the medallion was around his neck, and opened the door. Surprising him was the sight of Geiruudou, who gazed down at him. "GAH!" he yelped. "Can't you knock!?"

"I sensed you coming, and saw no reason to," said the covered Uzumaki. "I have come to inform of things. The first is that I sensed a kinsman arrive yesterday."

"Another Uzumaki? Where?"

"I'm not sure," said Geiruudou, crossing his arms. "What I do know is that it is a she, and she is somewhere in the village... likely for the Chuunin Exams."

"So I might run into her there?"

"Yes," said Geiruudou, pulling out a tag. "When you find her, give her this. It will transport her here, and will only work for an Uzumaki, so there is no risk of anyone else coming."

Naruto hesitantly took it. "I'm pretty sure this is against some rule... poaching another village's shinobi, even if they are one of us?"

"People disappear in these exams," said Geiruudou stonily. "You just may have the good fortune of rescuing her from some terrible fate, like being someone else's pawn. The second thing concerns your little backpack friend."

The Shouhen poked its head out of the bag, and Naga hissed at it from his spot on Geiruudou's shoulders. The Shouhen hissed back.

"Easy," said Geiruudou, stroking Naga's head. "I do not know why you summoned it, but it doesn't matter right now, because it is here. All that matters is that you take great care, and be aware. The Shouhen are crafty."

Naruto nodded and walked away, feeling Geiruudou's eyes on him. He relaxed when he got to his team's meeting place, seeing Sakura and Sasuke already there. Soon, Kakashi appeared roughly two hours late at Team 7's bridge. "Morning all," he said enthusiastically. When Naruto and Sakura yelled out that he was late, he chuckled and said, "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life…"

"Anyway, this may seem a bit sudden, but I've nominated the three of you for the Chuunin Exams." Holding out three papers, he said, "These are your applications. This is just a nomination though, so whether or not you want to take the exam is up to you."

"We'll take it," said Naruto and Sakura at the same time. Sasuke nodded in agreement, and said, "There's gonna be a lot of strong guys there…"

Kakashi's eye smiled and he said, "Good for you. Now all you have to do is sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4PM tomorrow. Ja ne!" And in the blink of an eye and a puff of smoke, Kakashi was gone.

The next day, Team 7 met up at the academy, and filed in. When they got inside, they saw a commotion at the entrance of room 301. Two genin were blocking the way, and they had kicked around two genin already. "It's not worth it," said the squinty-eyed one with the spiky hair and giant kunai. "We've failed the Chuunin Exams three times in a row, so we're doing you all a favor."

Naruto rolled his eyes, and Sakura whispered to her teammates that they were on the wrong floor. So, Naruto and Sakura tried to slip away, when Sasuke said, "I appreciate your kindness… but please move. I'm going to the third floor, so I need you to drop the Genjutsu…"

Naruto winced. If Sasuke had kept his mouth shut, then there'd be a whole lot less competition. Naruto himself was feeling a bit antsy now, so he wanted to get out of there immediately.

The second of the two Genin, one with a Konoha bandana, smirked and said, "You noticed, huh…?"

Sasuke smirked. "Sakura noticed it first, since she's the Genjutsu specialist on our team…"

Sakura winced. Sasuke was obviously trying to get in her good graces while dragging her into his mess at the same time. It would have been fine before, but she was getting the sneaking suspicion that he was only doing this because of her new outfit. Resigned, she put on a smile and said, "I knew it the moment we walked in… because this is the second floor."

As the Genjutsu disappeared, revealing room 301 to be room 201, the spiky-haired Genin chuckled and launched into a roundhouse kick. Sasuke responded in kind, but the two of them were stopped by a Genin in a green leotard and orange leg-warmers.

"Fast," said Naruto, his eyes wider.

The Genin approached Sakura, who began to clench a fist. "Hi," he said. "I'm Rock Lee… Let's go out together! I'll protect you with my life!" he punctuated his proclamation with a wink and a thumbs-up.

Naruto barely suppressed his gag reflex. If the green leotard wasn't bad enough, then Lee's eyebrows and hairstyle was complete overkill. Sakura squeaked and hid behind Naruto, where she said, "You want to go out with me, Naruto, here's your chance... Now save me!"

While Lee dropped his head in dismay, his teammate, a boy with long hair in a ponytail, bandages on his left arm and leg, and the same color eyes as Hinata walked up to Sasuke and said, "What is your name?"

Naruto went into his defensive state, and walked past Hyuuga Neji (the one who approached Sasuke), grabbing Sasuke before he could answer. "Let's go emo-boy," he said. "You can play with your new friends later."

"Naruto, let me go before I hurt you," growled Sasuke.

"I've been threatened by bigger and scarier people, Sasuke-teme," retorted Naruto, as he dragged Sasuke away, with Sakura following them. "Unless you forgot Zabuza?" Sasuke said nothing, but glared at his teammate who stopped him from showing his superiority over Lee.

Speaking of Lee, he had followed them. "Naruto-san…" he said, adopting a defensive stance, "I wish to fight you."

Naruto gazed at him impassively, then turned around and started to walk away. "That'd ruin the surprise, Fuzzy-brows," Naruto threw over his shoulder. "When the time comes, I will… but not now."

"Naruto-baka!" cried Sakura. "You were just challenged! Are you going to walk out on it!?"

"I'm fairly certain that fighting before the exams is against some rule."

Sasuke stepped up and said, "I'll take him on, then."

Lee turned to him and said, "It's common courtesy to give your own name first."

Sasuke nodded, understanding. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Okay," said Lee, adopting an offensive stance. "I've wanted to test my techniques against an Uchiha. Plus…" he trailed off, looking at Sakura. He blew a series of kisses at her, causing her to yelp and dodge them all.

"You want to play with the big boys in terms of battle, but you're afraid of a guy in a green leotard who wants to earnestly date you?" Naruto asked Sakura. "I'll never understand girls." Moments later found him clutching his head as a knot swelled, borne of the union between Naruto's head and Sakura's fist.

Sasuke chuckled at Lee, and said "Knowingly challenging me… frankly, I think you're a fool. And you're about to realize what it means to challenge me…" Sasuke ran at him, but Lee seemingly disappeared. He came out of nowhere and yelled, "Konoha Senpuu!"

Long story short, even with his Sharingan, Sasuke got his ass kicked by Lee, who revealed that he was a Taijutsu user, and Sasuke's Sharingan was useless against him. He was apparently about to launch a special attack when he was attached to the wall by his bandages by a pinwheel out of nowhere.

"That's enough, Lee!" said a talking turtle with a hitai-ate around its neck. Lee abandoned Sasuke, who fell and hit the ground. He was on his feet in seconds, and Lee landed like a cat in front of the talking turtle.

"What the hell is this?" asked Naruto, truly confused.

"I think that talking turtle…" said Sakura staring, "is Lee-san's sensei."

The turtle had been saying that Lee should have known better than showing off techniques, and then asked if Lee was ready to face judgment. When Lee nodded sadly, the turtle yelled, "Then here comes Maito Gai!"

In a puff of smoke, a man appeared on the turtle. The man looked like an older version of Lee, from the red hitai-ate around his waist to the green leotard… they even had the same hairstyle and eyebrows. The only difference was the Jounin vest the bigger Lee clone had. "You guys are the epitome of Youth!" he yelled enthusiastically.

Naruto turned his face to avoid seeing it. "Why is this happening to us?" he asked. "First Fuzzy-brows… and now Super Fuzzy-brows!"

In the meantime, Gai had punched Lee, then pulled him up and hugged him, tears streaming. "Lee, this is what youth is all about!"

"Hai, Gai-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"Leaving," muttered Naruto as he, Sakura, and Sasuke snuck away from the traumatizing image. They arrived at room 301, and Kakashi was there to see them in. "Good work, Team 7. The Chuunin Exam lies just beyond these doors. Good luck, and take care."

"Hai," said Naruto, Sakura to his left and Sasuke to his right. "Let's go!"

xxxxxxxxxxx

"What the…"

The room was packed with Genin, many of them older than Team 7. "Sasuke-kun!" came a familiar voice, and Sasuke found a joyful Ino hugging him, much to his chagrin. Naruto squinted and said, "Hey, I need my teammate, Ino-chan…"

Ino glared at Naruto, who gazed back passively. Before Ino knew it, she got lost in those eyes, those big blue eyes that was like the expanse of an ocean...

She was taken out of her thoughts by an angry pinkette. "You heard him!" growled Sakura. "Get off of Sasuke-kun Ino-pig!"

"Make me, forehead! And what's with the outfit!? You'll never make Sasuke-kun like you wearing that!"

Sasuke snorted, and Shikamaru and Chouji choose to arrive at that moment. "You guys are in this, too? Mendokuse…." Chouji just kept eating his chips, and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Sakura's outfit. "Why are you wearing that?"

Sakura crossed her arms and said, "Because I feel like it."

"What's crackin', homies?" came a familiar voice. Naruto winced and said, "Kiba, never say that again…"

Kiba had shown up, accompanied by Shino and Hinata. Naruto squinted at what Hinata wore, and reddened a little.

Hinata still kept her original pants, but she was wearing an dark-gray kimono top held in place by a dark red obi, and a navy blue kimono coat with the kanji "Ten" (Heaven) on the back. In short, formal, but fitting enough so that it molded to her like a fighter's outfit. Hinata bowed her head innocently, and offered a small smile. "K-Konnichi wa, N-Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san…"

Kiba casually wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulder, earning a wide-eyed look from Hinata and a growl from Naruto. Squinting, Kiba said, "What are you growling for, fox-boy?"

Naruto crossed his arms and glared at the dog user. "You won't like me when I'm angry Kibbles, and I'm starting to get angry."

Kiba snorted. "And what are you gonna do?"

As far as Sasuke was concerned, this was just a repeat of the incident involving himself, Kiba, and Naruto when that Sarai girl showed up. "Have your pissing contest later, dobes times two," he snarked to Naruto and Kiba, who both glared at him.

Hinata took that time to slip out of Kiba's grip and move closer to Naruto. "A-Ano, Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun's just b-being friendly. P-please don't f-fight..." Naruto relented. As far as he could tell, Hinata's confidence was going up, and thanks to the lessons recently drilled into his head by his two cousins, he was aware that Hinata _might_ have been trying to show him that she was available. _Maybe._

Brain Shouhen grunted at his summoner's ignorance. He was of a completely different species and he could tell that the female wished to mate with summoner Naruto. The pheromones were just rolling off her.

"Hey, could you guys keep it down?" said a voice. It turned out to be a shinobi wearing an outfit identical to Sasuke's, except his was dark purple and he had a strip of cloth around his waist, and glasses, as well as fingerless gloves, with a hitai-ate around his head. "Silly Rookies… I'm Kabuto, but look behind you."

The Genins saw a group of glaring Ame-nin (Rain-nin). Naruto grinned evilly and took a step forward, when Hinata and Sakura held him back. Naruto turned to them to ask why, when he saw the look they were giving him, and he wilted.

Kabuto noticed this, and choice to store it away. "Those guys are Ame-nin, and are known to have notoriously short tempers. So quiet down, everyone's on edge and you guys are making a scene."

Naruto frowned out at the foreigners as Sakura asked, "Kabuto-san, have you taken the exam before?"

"Yeah…" said Kabuto. "This is my seventh time, and since it's held twice a year, this is my fourth year."

"Damn, you suck," commented Kiba.

Kabuto ignored him, and drew a pack of cards from his pouch. "It's good practice, and I've managed to gather a sizable amount of info, with my Nin-Info cards. Basically, they're information cards with four years of data burned into them."

He set one on the ground and began to spin it. "They don't do anything unless I add my chakra, and…" An image appeared. "… Bingo." The card now had a map on it with bar graphs on it.

"What's that?" asked Sasuke.

"It's a breakdown of this years exam… basically, the number of Genin and the country they're from. As you can see, most of the participants are from the minor villages, with Iwa and Kiri abstaining."

"Do you individual cards?"

"Yeah," said Kabuto, putting his right hand on his 200-card deck. "I've got one of everyone, even you guys. But it's not perfect."

That didn't matter to Sasuke. "Sabaku no Gaara from Suna, Rock Lee from Konoha, and Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha." This earned a glare at him from Naruto.

"Okay," he said, removing three. Putting his chakra in them, he revealed their contents. "First, Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys, but this is his first time taking the test. He has completed twenty D-Rank and twelve C-Rank missions. His sensei is Maito Gai, and his teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten. Taijutsu is excellent, and his Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are virtually non-existent."

"Next is Sabaku no Gaara. This is his first year as well, and he has completed eight C-Rank missions and one B-Rank. His sensei is Baki, and his teammates are Temari and Kankurou, who are incidentally his siblings as well. I don't have much info on him since he's new, but it's been said that he came back from every mission without a scratch."

"Lastly, Uzumaki Naruto. This is his first year, and he completed twenty-five D-Rank missions and one B-Rank. His sensei is Hatake Kakashi, and his teammates are Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke," said Kabuto, reading off the information. "Hmm… Ninjutsu is excellent, Taijutsu is average, and Genjutsu is below average. Apparently, he's rumored to hold a rare Kekkei Genkai and Kubikiri Boucho… but those are just rumors."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. The number of people who knew that were either out of the village, or were standing around him, not counting Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei. That meant that there was a spy somewhere.

Even so, that didn't make the Genin any more tentative of the unpredictable Naruto. Well, Hinata was well at ease, if not a bit nervous, but those that grew up with him now looked at Naruto with a new light.

Naruto, who was feeling more and more antsy, was pretty sure that if the test didn't start soon, a fight would break out, with him at the head. Before the change he went through, he would have thought it was test jitters, but now… he was sure it was because of some primal feeling, like he was viewing everyone, especially the males, as a threat.

Kabuto, on the other hand, had launched into a monologue about the shinobi villages, ending with the recent creation of Otogakure (Hidden Sound Village), stating that it was the weakest village so far. The Oto-nin team didn't take that too well.

They launched into action; the mini-Kakashi throwing kunai to catch Kabuto off guard, and the Mummy swiped at him with his right arm, with said arm wielding a strange device. Kabuto dodged it, but as he landed, his glasses broke. "So that's how it is," he muttered, taking them off.

Suddenly, he fell to the ground, and lost his lunch. This caught the nearest Konoha-nin by surprise, because they knew he wasn't hit.

Naruto winced at the ringing in his ears, but he was happy that there was a fight started, because it had calmed him down, if only slightly. He looked over the Oto-nin team.

The apparent leader was the Mummy, who had a hairy… thing on his back. To his right was the mini-Kakashi, who wore a shirt that had the Kanji "Shi" (Death) on it three times, and side-guards. To the leader's left was a pretty girl, with a gunmetal gray vest and long black hair with a purple bow near the end.

Naruto tilted his head at the female Oto-nin, who was glaring at Kabuto. She caught his eyes and stared at him, before looking away with a hint of a blush. "Sound," he muttered, referencing to Mummy-man's attack.

"Write this on your cards," said the mini-Kakashi. "The Oto-nin Dosu, Zaku, and Kin will definitely be Chuunins."

"Quiet down, you worthless bastards!" yelled a gruff voice from the front as a puff of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared, the proctors had appeared, led by a certain trenchcoat wearing scarred Tokubetsu Jounin with a bandana.

"Thanks for waiting," said "Scarface" grimly. "Welcome to the Chuunin Selection Exams. I'm your host, Morino Ibiki."

The Genin up front looked ready to wet themselves. They flinched when Ibiki pointed to the back. "You! Oto-nin! Cut that shit out, do you want to be disqualified before the Exam even starts?"

"Sorry," said Dosu, the Mummy-man. "This is our first time here, and we got carried away…"

Ibiki snorted and cast his attention to everyone else. "All right, let me make this clear to everyone: There will be no fighting without the examiner's permission. If fighting is allowed, killing will not be tolerated. Those who disobey will be put down. Am I clear?"

His glare left no room for opposition. Naruto grinned. This guy was dangerous, and Naruto was slightly on edge, but he was starting to like this guy, this… Morino Ibiki.

"Okay, we'll start Test One of the Chuunin Selection Exams. Instead of your current arrangements, we'll give you a tab with a number on it, and you'll go to the matching seat. We will then hand out the written exam."

And that possible acknowledgement went down the crapper. Naruto cursed lowly. He completely sucked at written tests, and they throw this out? He was going to be mad for the rest of this exam.

A few moments later, Naruto sat in his seat, setting down his bag, but still on edge. There were people all around him, and he didn't know anybody. Then he smelled a familiar scent, thought on it, and realized where and when he had smelled it, namely a few moments ago. "Kon, Hinata-chan…"

Hinata tilted her head. "Kon?"

Naruto grinned. "I shortened Konnichi wa into the first three letters; Kon."

Hinata giggled. "Y-you are aware that 'K-kon' is the sound f-foxes make, ne?"

Naruto's smile turned into a scowl. Just another reminder of the great and terrible Kyuubi in his gut. He realized that he would need to talk to the fox at some point, and would worry about it later. During this, Ibiki had been laying out the rules of the written exam, and the point system. "A point will be deducted for each wrong question. That is the first rule. The second rule is that this is a team test. Whether you pass or fail will be determined by the final score of your teammates. The optimum is 30 points. The third rule is… that if anyone is caught cheating by the examiners, then the offender will lose two points. Any who lose all there points will have to leave the exam."

"So, we all just have to keep our points," muttered Sakura, casting a quick glance at Naruto. "Naruto-baka might not do see well, but we can still cover for him…"

Ibiki grinned evilly. "The fourth and final rule is this… anyone who loses all their points, whether by being caught cheating five times or getting every question wrong, will fail… and their teammates will fail with them!"

Naruto winced. He knew that he wasn't book-smart, but he was at least smarter than the average Genin, at least now he was, thanks to Gekidou and Geiruudou. There had to be a catch to all this, a way to avoid getting all questions wrong and losing the exam. Still, that did nothing to avert the feeling that two people was digging a grave that had his name on it...

"The exam will last for one hour. Turn over your tests and begin!"

As one, the Genin in the room turned over their papers. Sakura immediately knew that Naruto wouldn't pass the test, more than likely. Naruto, on the other hand, knew some of the material, but the rest… He had now reaffirmed his hatred for paperwork. "Damnable Procter," he muttered under his breath.

It was a while before Sasuke picked up the secret to the exam. 'This isn't about our intelligence,' he thought. 'It's about our information gathering skills. They're trying to see how well we can cheat without getting caught. And they're marking down all those caught, to separate the worst from the best…'

Soon, it became apparent that everyone had figured this out. Kiba was using Akamaru to spy on the students around him, Shino was using insects to see the other tests, and Tenten was cheating for herself and Lee, through use of mirrors and wires.

Dosu followed the sounds of a specific pencils' strokes on the paper (on the wood) to reproduce the answers on his sheet, Neji used his Byakugan to see through bodies and see the papers, and Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy an examinees movements.

Naruto rubbed his head, thinking about what to do, when a kunai sped past him and embedded into the paper of the Genin behind him. "Oh my god, kunai!" gasped the Genin.

"You fail," said Kotetsu, the bandage-faced proctor. "Take your teammates and get the hell out."

When the team left, Naruto picked up on what they were supposed to do. "Hinata-chan," he whispered, "the point of this is to cheat without getting caught."

Hinata cast her eyes sideward, confused. "A-Are you sure?"

"Hai. That's what Scarface meant by 'Be proud shinobi' and don't let us catch you cheating." With that, he muttered, "Tomoe no Reinogan: Kanchi San." Now he was able to see through the examinee in front of him and see his paper. "The best of luck," he whispered to Hinata, and then went to work.

Pretty soon, teams left and right were being kicked out. Finally, when it came down to it, roughly half the teams were left. Ibiki smirked. 'Looks like the weaklings have been weeded out… it's time.'

"All right, it's time for the tenth question. But before I ask it, I'd like to lay down a few quick rules…"

Naruto groaned. 'More rules?' he thought.

"These are the rules of desperation…"

xxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm bored," said Kakashi.

"Hush, Kakashi," said Asuma, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Things will get exciting."

"First thing Asuma," said Kakashi, "never tell me to 'Hush' again. Second thing, why?"

"I heard that Ibiki's in charge of the exam."

Kakashi's spirited was lifted, but he felt sorry for his team at the same time, though. "That sadistic bastard…"

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kurenai, leaning to one side.

"Kurenai, you're new, so you haven't heard of him," said Asuma, an evil grin forming on his face. "Morino Ibiki is a Tokubetsu Jounin that's in charge of the ANBU Torture/Interrogation Force, and he's a damn good one, too. He's so sadistic, those Genin will probably have a mental breakdown by the end of the first exam..."

"Asuma, you know smoking kills…" said Kakashi, changing the subject.

"Silly Kakashi, I'm a shinobi… and shinobi don't die from something silly like cancer."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"First, you all are gonna choose whether or not you wish to take the final question," said Ibiki, glaring at the Genin.

This got everyone's attention. Temari yelled out, "Choose? So what happens if we choose not to take the tenth question?"

Answering her question, Ibiki replied, "If you choose to not take the question, you'll lose all your points. In other words, you fail." Grinning, he added, "And when you fail, your teammates will fail with you."

There were cries of indignation, and someone yelled out, "Horseshit! Of course we'll take the final question."

Ibiki closed his eyes, and continued on. "And that goes with the other rule. If you choose to take it, and get the question wrong…" here he opened his eyes, "you'll be banned from the Chuunin Exam for the rest of your natural lives!"

At this point, Kiba rose up and pointed a finger at Ibiki, saying, "What kind of bullshit is that!? There are people here who took the Chuunin Exam before!" Akamaru added a bark for emphasis.

Ibiki chuckled. "You were unlucky this year. I am the Proctor. And as such, your shinobi careers are in my cruel, unfeeling hands. That's why I gave you the option of quitting."

At this, Kiba sat down in a daze. "You can choose to not take the final question, and fail. But you can take the exam again."

Everyone had the same thought: 'Don't take the question and fail, or take the question and stay a genin forever if the question was wrong. Either way, it's a no win scenario.'

"And so, it begins," intoned Ibiki, his voice carrying throughout the room.

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Ibiki asked the people who were going to not take the question to raise their hands, almost immediately, half the people in the room raised their hands. When their numbers were confirmed, they left.

Sakura and Sasuke wondered what their teammate would do. Granted, Sakura that Naruto had heart, especially since he had family now, and wanted to do them proud, but Sasuke had figured that Naruto would be better off quitting now so that they might have a better chance next year.

Naruto grinned evilly. Plenty of people had played mind games with him when he was younger, so he was sort of mad that he didn't pick up on it earlier. He raised his hand, then he immediately slammed it down, and said, "I'd hate to have you as my psychologist."

Everyone was gob-smacked by what he said. "They must be big," muttered a Genin to the one next to him. "What?" asked the nudged Genin. "The size of his brass balls."

Meanwhile, with Naruto: "I'll take your life-or-death question, and I have no fear. I'm gonna become the strongest, so I can take whatever you throw at me."

While Hinata looked on in adoration, Ibiki narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Your very career is riding on your choice now, and I'm giving you a chance to back out while you still have everything."

Naruto grinned and said, "You wanna play rough? Then let's get wild…"

Ibiki had to hand it to Naruto, he had guts. 'Little smartass,' he thought. 'I guess there's no point in belaying the inevitable. You're an interesting one… Uzumaki Naruto.'

"Good choice," he yelled out. "Now… to the 78 remaining… congratulations on passing the first test!"

At the blank and shocked looks Ibiki was getting, he launched into a speech of how the test was designed. The first nine questions were based on information gathering skills, and the tenth question was a test of will and might.

He then talked about how information, at times, is worth more than the lives of people, and to emphasize his point, he took off his bandana, to reveal scores of slashes, burns, and screw holes in his scalp.

This made nearly everyone unconsciously grasp the tops of their heads. _The man had been tortured!_

He replaced his bandana, and then concluded with information being wrong would bring ruin to a mission, and to the one doing it. "With that," he finished, a genuine smile on his lips, "I congratulate you all, on making it to the Second Exam."

No sooner had he said that, then a large _something_ flew in through the window and landed in front of him. Kunai hit the ceiling, and the object flew open to reveal a banner and a woman. The woman wore a net outfit, an oversized jacket (more like a trenchcoat), a miniskirt, and a pair of shin-guards. 'That woman's gonna be the death of me,' thought Ibiki.

"Everyone, no time to celebrate! 'Cause the Second Examiner is here!" She had one hand in the air and yelled, "I am Mitarashi Anko, Second Examiner of the Chuunin Selection Exams!

Dead silence, except for Naruto's whispered "Hello…" Hinata winced. That was just proof that Naruto, in spite of his power, was still just a regular guy, and like all guys, suffered from Wandering Eye Syndrome. 'It just isn't fair,' she thought to herself. 'Why do all these women keep stealing his attention?'

Sasuke deadpanned, muttering, "Just what we need, a female Naruto…"

"Anko," said Ibiki from the side of the banner, "check the atmosphere."

Anko blanched, and then recovered. "You let 26 teams pass, Ibiki? Losing your touch?"

"Not at all, we just had some talented ones this time around."

"Oh, well." She gazed out at the teams left, grinned, and said, "You can be sure that I'll cut their numbers in more than half." That scared the crap out of a lot of people. She raised her voice. "All righty, prepare for the next exam tomorrow. We're gonna be somewhere else, so ask your Jounin sensei about it. Dismissed."

Later on that night found Naruto, Geiruudou, and Gekidou sitting in a circle outside, with Naga, Geki, and the Brain Shouhen beside their respective humans. "So you couldn't leave it alone," said Gekidou, shaking his head. "One of the most dangerous summons in the world, and you bring it out, out of curiosity? You should say 'Kai' and send it back to their prison."

"Hey, I didn't know that I was actually going to summon him," protested Naruto. "I thought that you still needed the summoning technique hand seals, which I never got."

"Whaddya mean, him?" asked Gekidou.

"Not sure on the gender, so I'm gonna call the Brain Shouhen 'him'," Naruto said.

"He's actually right," said Geiruudou. "I think that only one of them is female... not sure which one. However, we have more pressing matters. Did you find her, the new Uzumaki?"

Naruto shook his head. "There were too many people," he said. "I might see her tomorrow, depending on what we're doing." He crossed his arms and looked down. "What if she doesn't want to come?"

"That's her choice," said Gekidou. "Just let her know that she has a place to go to, if she needs one."

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The next day, the genin teams met at a place that had chains on the gate.

'What is this place?' was the thought on everyone's minds.

"Welcome to Training Area #44, everyone!" Then on an afternote, Anko added, "Affectionately known as the Forest of Death."

"Creepy," said Sakura, as Sasuke stood off to the side and Naruto surveyed the area he could see.

"You'll find out soon enough how it got its name," said Anko, and she narrowed her eyes when she heard Naruto mutter, "Sounds fun…"

Anko grinned. "Fun, huh?" In the span of seconds, she drew a kunai and threw it, slicing Naruto's cheek and causing him to bleed. In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind him, licking his bleeding cheek. To Naruto's credit, he didn't flinch. "To laugh in the face of death… you've got guts, kid…"

Naruto smirked, his right eye twitching at the feel of her breasts on his back. At least, they would have been had the Brain Shouhen not been showing his displeasure by squirming around. "I get that a lot… but you're making my little friend uncomfortable."

Anko chuckled and held a kunai to Naruto's crotch. "A funny one, huh? You aren't gay, are you? It would be such a shame if you were..." Her attention was caught by a Kusa-nin (Grass-nin) who came behind her and held out Anko's thrown kunai… with his tongue. "You dropped this."

Anko took back the kunai, grinning, and said, "Thanks… but don't sneak up behind me unless you want to die…"

Gagging from the stench of snakes coming from the Kusa-nin, Naruto took this opportunity to squirm out of Anko's grip and rejoin Sakura and Sasuke. Anko blinked, then said, "Okay, before we start this test, I'm handing these out." Holding up a bunch of papers, she smiled good-naturedly and said, "These are waivers… there ARE going to be deaths during this part of the exam, and the responsibility will fall to me if you don't sign them."

"First let me explain," she said, pointing at the fenced-off forest. "Basically, everyone here is gonna be in a five-day survival test. The area is surrounded by a fence, and there are three main features: the Tower, in the center; the river, running through the forest and the tower; and the forest itself, running around the entire area. It's roughly ten kilometers from one of the 44 gates to the tower, and once you guys are in, the gates will be locked, and you can complete your assigned task."

At the confused looks she got, Anko drew out a brown scroll with the kanji "Tsuchi" on it, and a white scroll with the kanji "Ten" on it. "Each team will get either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll, and then it'll be an all-out scroll battle. Basically, you have to fight each other for a reversed scroll; like one team has to have both an Earth Scroll and a Heaven scroll."

"There are 78 people here, meaning 26 teams. Thirteen with get a Heaven Scroll and thirteen will get an Earth Scroll. I reiterate, you _must_ get to the tower with both scrolls. Like I said before, you have five days to get to the tower. You'll be facing the same conditions any shinobi on a mission will face; hunting for your own food, constant threat of attack, lack of sleep, and great distance to complete your mission. So it's official… some will die inside."

She then went over the disqualifications; either losing a teammate, or not getting the scrolls within the time limit. "Another thing… don't open the scrolls until you make to the tower. Anyone who does… will get a big surprise. Now, exchange the three forms I gave each team member for a scroll, then move to a gate. Lastly… don't die."

As time passed, the teams got their scrolls and a made it to their gates. Naruto stole Hinata away before Kiba could notice and held her hands. "You'll stay sharp, right?" he asked.

Hinata blushed. "I-I'll be fine, N-Naruto-kun. S-Shino-kun will take c-care of me, and make s-sure Kiba-kun doesn't g-get out of hand."

Naruto nodded. "If we run into each other, we should join up. Safety in numbers, right?"

Hinata nodded, and, as an afterthought, kissed him on the lips, then rejoined her teams. Naruto stood there in shock, until the Brain Shouhen prodded him in the back. "**Mate later,**" it thought-spoke. "Quiet you," muttered Naruto as he rejoined his team. Soon after, the time came, and the second exam had started.

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Pretty soon, our resident Team 7, in possession of a Heaven Scroll, heard screaming. "Looks like the carnage has started," said Naruto, looking into the distance, taking off his jacket and tying it around his waist. "I'm gonna go check out the area."

"Be careful," said Sakura. "We need you to help us complete the Exam." A few moments later, Naruto came back. "It's all clear," he said, pointing and winking at Sakura. "Let's go this way."

Sakura started, but then, she kicked Naruto in the crotch. Naruto fell, clutching his goods, and then, in a puff of smoke, he changed into an Ame-nin with an oxygen mask. "H-how?" the Ame-nin groaned out.

Sakura crossed her arms and smirked. "Naruto might be an idiot, but he knows that I like Sasuke, and he never winks. Never!" she said.

"Damn straight," said Naruto, dropping from a tree. He reached into the Ame-nin's pouch and pulled out an Earth Scroll. "Jackpot," he said. "Now let's get to the tower."

"Wait," said Sasuke. "If something like this happens again, we need a code to recognize each other. If one of us gets the code wrong, then we can assume it's an enemy."

"What should the code be?" asked Sakura, noting that Naruto looked fidgety. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

"Sasuke," whispered Naruto. "The real code should be the one phrase that is the bane of our existence."

Sasuke caught on and nodded. Out loud, he said, "Okay, I'll only say this once. When I ask, 'Nin Machine', you answer 'Hide, wound, and wait… that is the way of the shinobi… when the enemy is hurt and unaware.' You understand?"

Naruto and Sakura nodded. "I'll hold the Heaven Scroll," said Sasuke, holding out his hand. Naruto discreetly made a clone of the scroll and gave it to Sasuke, keeping the original. Immediately after that, a gust of wind came out of nowhere, and blew Naruto away.

When the wind passed, Sasuke was all alone. But Sakura came, and Sasuke held a kunai up to her. "Nin machine."

Sakura grimaced. "Super… Special… Awesome…"

Sasuke nodded and cringed. If he ever heard it again…

Naruto suddenly appeared. "Hot damn, what was that?" he asked.

"Nin machine," said Sasuke.

Naruto grinned and said, "Hide, wound, and wait… that is the way of the shinobi… when the enemy is hurt and unaware." He didn't count on Sasuke socking him. "Wha-what was that for!?" he yelled. "I said the code correctly!"

Sasuke grinned. "The code was the words that were the bane of our existence… 'Super Special Awesome'. God, how I hate those words…"

Naruto grinned evilly and with a poof, turned into the Kusa-nin with the long tongue. "Kukuku… I got a bit careless… this'll be fun, though…"

Meanwhile, Naruto landed on his feet some distance away. "That was a Fuuton Jutsu," he said, narrowing his eyes. "That had to have come from someone way stronger than Genin…" He trailed off hearing a low hissing noise. Turning around, he saw the biggest snake in his life staring at him. Like a hunter. "Mother…"

Naruto was grabbed by the snake's tail and brought to its mouth. Naruto wasn't too keen on becoming dinner for something, so after squirming, he brought out a kunai with an exploding tag on it, and threw it in the snake's open mouth. Putting his free hand into the Ram Seal, he grinned and said, "Eat this. Katsu!"

The snake was about to eat him, when it exploded, spreading blood and flesh everywhere. Dropping to his feet, Naruto sniffed the air, and found his teammates, along with the stink of snake. Growling, he tore off into the trees.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had taken Sakura and hidden. He was scared again, only this time, it was plausible. The Kusa-nin was a monster; first he had eaten his Earth Scroll, then made them see their deaths with his Killing Intent. 'We've got to get out of here!' he thought frantically.

"Kukuku… nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, Sasuke-kun…" came the Kusa-nin's voice as he appeared across from them. "I am the Predator, and you are my Prey… all you can do is run." Lunging at them, he was cut off by kunai with exploding tags attached. Backing off, he was able to get away before they detonated. He then sent a glare at the one who threw them.

"Gomen, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme" said Naruto, his purple eyes slitted. "Super Special Awesome is the code… I now hate Tazuna-san for those words…"

"Get the hell out of here, Naruto!" yelled Sasuke. "This guys a whole level above us!"

"Kukuku… so, you managed to defeat my snake, Naruto-kun…"

"Your snake?" growled Naruto, crouching and activating Kanchi. He was incensed when Sasuke tried to bargain with the snakey bastard, using their Heaven Scroll as the bait. "You chickenshit bastard!" he yelled. "What's that gonna do!? You said he's a whole level above us… that means he can kill us now and take the scroll!"

Sasuke grew sick at this when he realized he had already handed over their scroll. The Kusa-nin reaffirmed it by licking his lips and saying, "Naruto-kun… you're absolutely right!" The Kusa-nin raised his sleeve, revealing a snake tattoo, and bit his thumb, rubbing blood over the tattoo.

Naruto cursed and jumped at the Kusa-nin, ignoring Sakura and Sasuke's cries for him to stop. "Got to stop him," he growled, throwing a punch at the Kusa-nin. Then he heard three words that made his blood run cold.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

The Kusa-nin now stood on another giant snake, which took opportunity of Naruto's momentary shock to slam the Genin into a tree. Naruto had the presence of mind to twist his body to avoid crushing Brain Shouhen, but that made it hurt worse.

"Naruto!" cried out Sakura, as her teammate fell to his death at the jaws of the snake. She rejoiced when Naruto punched the snake in the upper jaw, but then, she saw him get blown away by a wind attack from the Kusa-nin's mouth.

Sasuke was shocked to see this wild Naruto, and he wasn't able to move out of the way as the snake barreled toward him, its rider yelling, "Come Sasuke-kun, what will you do!?"

The snake was brought to a halt by five Naruto's, the apparent real one glaring at Sasuke with pronounced whisker-marks and claws. "Hey," he growled. "You done whining, you emo chickenshit?"

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"Crap," said one of the proctors, looking down at the bodies before him and his companions. "Three dead ones already…"

Izumo, the Proctor with the bandana and hair going over his right eye, asked his partner Kotetsu, "Is that some kind of Ninjutsu?"

"Yeah," muttered Kotetsu, standing up. "Damn, a problem already… Get Anko over here, now?"

Anko was sitting at one of the gates, eating some dango and juice. She was also thinking about that wise-ass Genin, Uzumaki Naruto, and unconsciously licked her lips. "A funny one, and not that bad looking, either…"

She was interrupted by the appearance of one of the proctors. "Big trouble, Anko-sama!"

Anko threw the dango stick into a tree and listened to his report. "Bodies?"

"And they look strange… please come and see!"

When she got there, she paled at the sight of their heads, while Kotetsu's voice traveled through the background. "After examining their items and papers, it's clear that they were Kusa-nin who entered the exam, but they have no faces, like they melted off…"

'What the hell is HE doing here!?' thought Anko in her head, frantically. "Get me their pictures!" she snapped. When Izumo gave them to her, her heart nearly stopped. 'So, that was him…!' She began issuing orders. "Report to Hokage-sama! Tell him to send some ANBU captains to the Forest of Death! I'm going in!"

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"If you don't shape up, then I'm gonna kill you myself, and use your entrails as a jump-rope, chickenshit," growled Naruto, his eyes turning an angry red. He then felt something slimy grab him around his upper body. His clones disappeared, and he found himself before the Kusa-nin. "So…" growled Naruto, struggling to get away, "you're the snake summoner… Orochimaru."

The Kusa-nin, now revealed to be Orochimaru, S-Rank Nuke-nin of Konoha, grinned and started performing seals. "I see you're still alive, Naruto-kun." He heard Naruto mutter something, and frowned when he saw Naruto's eyes turn white with three small black triangles. He felt on an instinctive level to be wary of this child, so he decided to kill him at a later date. But to the matter at hand…

He grabbed his right wrist and his fingers began to glow, revealing an element for each finger; Boku (Wood), Hi (Fire), Chikyuu (Earth), Kane (Metal), and Mizu (Water). He then used his tongue to lift Naruto's shirt, to reveal the Seal on his stomach. He was about to slam his fingers into Naruto's stomach when Naruto growled out "Ranzatsu". He suddenly lost all sense of balance, and he couldn't see straight; this made him drop Naruto. Orochimaru cursed and wildly cast out snakes from his arms. A set caught Naruto in the chest, and slammed the former Jinchuuriki into a tree, or at least it would have, had Naruto not swiped blood on his tattoo. "Some help please," he whispered to Brain.

"**Brawler**," it thought-spoke, and a puff of smoke summoned the Shouhen. It placed itself between its summoner and the tree, and took most of the blow. Then the two fell to the ground below.

Sakura saw him fall and summon his creature, and resolved to talk to him about it later, if they survived. "Sasuke!" she yelled. "The idiot may be nothing like you, but at least he isn't a coward!"

Sasuke was his own world at her words. His eyes shut tight, horrible memories of Sharingan eyes belonging to the one he wanted to kill, taunted him. "Foolish ototo…" said the memory. "If you want to kill me… then hate and spite… and survive like a roach! Run, little coward… run and survive…"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, revealing his two Tomoe Sharingan in each eye. BY this point, Orochimaru had regained his sense of balance and swore to kill Naruto, but when he saw Sasuke's eyes, his joy overwhelmed his desire to kill. 'Excellent,' he thought. 'His Uchiha blood is beginning to boil…' Seeing no further use for it, he dispelled his Snake Summon.

Sasuke whipped out four kunai and a Fuuhma Shuriken, along with another kunai in his mouth. Jumping in the air, he thought, 'I can't die here… I have to kill my brother… I will survive this!' He threw the kunai at Orochimaru, who dodged by zipping right and left. He caught a tree and spun around, tossing the Fuuhma Shuriken at Orochimaru, who jumped over it.

That was what Sasuke was waiting for. He drew more kunai, except these kunai had wires attached to them… wires that went to his mouth. Tossing them at random, Sasuke managed to trick the Snake Summoner into coming between them. "Nice," said Sasuke, clenching his teeth and putting his hands in the Tiger Seal. 'Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (2)!'

Orochimaru was surprised not only by the wire he found himself in, but also by the fire that now raced down them. Unable to dodge, he was consumed by the blaze, and Sasuke grinned and dropped the wire, crouching and panting. Sakura rejoiced at the death of the Snake-man, but then, she and Sasuke nearly had a heart-attack by what he saw next.

Orochimaru appeared, his clothing singed and his face melting. Wait, his _face_ was melting… like some sort of mask! The part that had melted revealed pale skin around an eye, surrounded by dark purple eyeliner, with yellow iris and slitted pupils. It was then that Daikani's words came back to him, and he realized. This was the guy that experimented on Daikani. This was the guy who drove him hopelessly insane. What chance did they, a new team of Genin, have against him.

"Kukuku…" chuckled the freaky Snake-man. "To be able to use the Sharingan that well at such an age… you truly are an Uchiha. Now I know… I want you…"

Sasuke could sense Sakura landing beside him, but his attention was centered on the man he now considered fruity. He watched as the man put his hand up to the grass symbol on his hitai-ate, then took it away to reveal a musical note.

Sound. This guy was really from Otogakure.

He and Sakura felt their bodies freeze. The killing intent Orochimaru was giving off was unbearable. But when Orochimaru commented on how "Sasuke really was Itachi's brother", Sasuke was able to move a little out of rage. "Just who the hell are you!?" he yelled.

"My name is Orochimaru," said the nuke-nin as he burned their Heaven Scroll. "If you want to see me again, then survive this exam… and defeat my Oto-nin."

"We never want to see your fruity face again!" yelled Sakura, as Orochimaru put his hands into a strange seal. Orochimaru chuckled, and then his neck extended like a snake's.

In the span of seconds, he had reached Sasuke and bitten the Uchiha like a vampire. When his head left Sasuke's neck and gone back to its regular spot, he said, "Sasuke-kun will seek me for power…"

Sasuke fell to his knees, crying out in pain as a trio of Sharingan-like Tomoe formed on his neck. "Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun…" said Orochimaru as he sank into the tree branch, revealing that he was a Tsuchi Bunshin.

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As the sun began to set, Anko raced through the trees in the Forest of Death. 'It's almost nightfall,' she thought. 'If I don't find him before it gets dark, I'm gonna be at a severe disadvantage. But still… why is he here right now? What is he planning?'

Landing on a tree branch, she surveyed the area, her thoughts a jumble. 'It doesn't matter now… Since you're here, I can settle my score with you. I'll stop you even if it means my life… at least, I can slow you down until the ANBU arrive… I know what you know… I was your apprentice…'

"Right, Orochimaru?" she asked to the upside-down face behind her. When she heard, "Impossible…", she pulled four senbon from her jacket and jumped, but the revealed Orochimaru lashed out with his tongue and wrapped it around her wrist. 'Hell no!' she thought, grabbing his tongue while she yelled "Sen'eijashu (3)!", sending a trio of snakes from around her arms to wrap around the tongue and bite it. Using all of her strength, she pulled her former master tree from the tree he had fused to and swung him in front of her. With all of her speed, she grabbed a kunai and shoved it through her right hand, pinning it to his.

Orochimaru knew this jutsu. "Soujasousai (4)?"

"Bingo," said Anko with a bitter grin as she grabbed his left hand. "Now the two of us will die." She panicked when Orochimaru grinned and said, "Planning to commit suicide, Anko-chan? I'm just a Kage Bunshin..." Cursing as the Kage Bunshin exploded, Anko caught sight of the real Orochimaru. "Why are you here!?" she yelled.

"Tut tut, Anko-chan," said Orochimaru as he pulled off the rest of his mask, revealing his true face. "You're so cold to me… it's been a while since we saw each other…"

"You bastard!" she yelled, clutching her neck in pain as she glared at him. "You used me, then you threw me away! I was willing to do anything for your approval!"

Orochimaru chuckled. "Bah, trivialities are so annoying. Besides, you served your purpose… Anyway, in regards to your question, there's a kid I found… and I gave him the same Juuin Fuuin (5) I gave you…"

Anko grinned, despite the pain in her neck from her own Curse Seal. "Sucks for you… that kid's gonna die. Remember what you said… the chances of surviving are 1/10…"

"True… but that is strong and talented, like and unlike you. He's an Uchiha after all…" Ignoring Anko's shocked look, he continued. "He's also very lovely… a perfect vessel to be my successor. If he survives, things will be very interesting…"

With a final warning to not cancel the exam, the Hebi-Sennin disappeared, leaving a pain-wracked Anko.

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"Sa… kura-chan…"

Sakura jumped as a wheezing Naruto on the back of the Brawler Shouhen appeared. "D-damn," he choked, trying to sit up, but failing. "Let's get out of here…"

Sakura nodded, and loaded the unconscious Sasuke onto the Brawler's back, next to Naruto. The four made their way through the forest floor, until they reached an open area with a tree, where Naruto and Sasuke were laid down to rest. The Brain Shouhen slithered out of Naruto's bag and joined the Brawler in watching as he laid himself against the tree wall. "D-dammit…"

Sakura put a wet cloth on Sasuke's forehead, as the Uchiha began to cough violently. "His breathing's returning to normal, but it's like he has a fever…"

Naruto laughed lightly, swiped some blood from his mouth, and spread it on the tattoo. The Brain, sensing his desire for one more summon, thought-spoke "**Webber.**" The arachnid-like Shouhen appeared, and Naruto groaned out "Cover the area... make us hard to get." The Shouhen bobbed its head and scuttled outside, and began to cover the area in silk. Naruto leaned back and muttered "Could be worse… Damned Orochimaru…"

Sakura turned to him, placing a cloth on his head as well. "Who was that guy?"

Naruto, now breathing easier, closed his eyes. "Orochimaru was a shinobi of Konoha… mostly known for his Snake Summons. He was with some other two who were part of Sandaime-jiji's Genin team. For some reason, he left the village… I know this, because Gekidou and Geiruudou had me do research…" He winced. "I got careless… I never expected to run into him while here… we're lucky to be alive… but now, I need to recover. I nearly used up my chakra hitting him with Konmei, and my body's a mass of pain…"

Sakura nodded. "I'll set up some traps, then watch over the two of you."

Naruto nodded looked over to the Brawler and the Brain. "Watch over us," he said. "Protect the three of us."

The Brawler bowed and moved outside to stand guard, blending in with the woods. The Brain slithered over to the entrance and watched Sakura begin to work. "**Protect.**"

Naruto nodded and let the darkness of sleep envelop him. He faintly heard Sasuke mutter, "Mm… no… Orochi... Get your hairy balls… out of my face…", and shuddered. 'He has some fucked-up dreams…'

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A few hours later, the Brain watched as Sakura fazed in and out of consciousness. He knew that she needed sleep, but Brawler would protect her and them. Webber had done his work, and covered the tree and area in silk, making it look like a tent. Thanks to the spider-web-style webbing surrounding them and on the ground, they would detect any intruders. However, he, the Brain, had plans, primitive plans that would be put into action. He had sworn to the summoner that it would protect them, and swore to protect the Uzumaki. As the situation stood, the best way of protection would be to get more Shouhen... to make more Shouhen. He was not disobeying orders. He was working to ensure that the Shouhen would be able to handle any threat, any problem to the clan.

With that in mind, he slithered over to Naruto's side, and gently cut the upper part of his arm, and smeared the blood on the tattoo. It sent whatever chakra it had, and pulled the Shouhen that it needed from their prison on Uzushio. In near-silent puffs of smoke, three Shouhen appeared; the Stinger, the Fire, and the Breeder. As proof of their lineage, of the Kisaragi shapeshifting, their bodies shifting and adapting to accommodate the sharing of abilities; the Breeder sprouted a scorpion tail from its back, as did the Fire, who gave the others a hunchback to accommodate the fire-breathing organs while gaining tentacles on its back from the Breeder, and the Stinger grew the hunchback along with two sets of tentacles. The Brain called the Webber, and as the Shouhen appeared, they shifted again, sprouting a small pair of arms with spinnerets at the ends. The four others slipped out the back as Sakura turned around to check on her two teammates, to only see the Brain looking at her. She looked back outside and shivered. Even though Naruto's summon meant well, she still didn't like the way things looked... she felt like some morsel on a web, drawing in bigger predators.

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Illuminated by the light of the moon, the battleground lay silent, as the victors of this battle claimed their spoils. "Please, stop," whispered the Ame-nin as he felt his chakra leave him, and travel into his opponent.

"I'll stop when you're dead," replied a man wearing a Konoha bandana, circular black shades, and mask covering his face, and an outfit identical to Kabuto's. This was Akado Yoroi, Kabuto's teammate. He had a blue glow around his hands, which were latched onto the Ame-nin's neck, and snapped it, ending the poor bastard's suffering.

"This is what you get for fighting us seasoned veterans," said another man who wore the same thing, except he had clear glasses. This was Tsurugi Misumi, holding out a kunai that he had just ripped out of his opponent.

"Looks like we have the required scrolls," said Kabuto. "You two go on ahead. I'll see if I can find Sasuke-kun."

Yoroi snorted. "Just because you're Orochimaru's favorite doesn't mean you get to boss us around."

Misumi laughed, but his laughter turned into a strangled gasp as he dropped to the ground. His teammates saw the scorpion tail come out of his back from up in a tree, and tossed kunai at it. The kunai were caught by a blast of silk that pinned them to a tree and a blast of fire shot out at them.

"Dammit!" cursed Yoroi. "If only we were near some water...!" He blanched at the spider-like creature dragging away his teammate into the undergrowth, and ran after it. He caught sight of the spider-thing, but noticed that it had a scorpion tail. Before he could process how impossible that was, he felt pain in his back. He turned his head, slowly, painfully, to see another creature like the spider-thing, but noted idly that it had a beak of all things, then dropped to the ground, and was dragged away by that one.

Meanwhile, Kabuto was struggling to avoid the blasts of fire that seemed to come out of the dark, and tossed kunai in the direction he believed they came from. At length, they stopped. Kabuto pulled out a kunai and slowly moved in a circle, realizing that he was all alone. He backed up slowly against a tree, and calmed himself. 'My teammates are likely dead,' he thought. 'I should find Orochimaru-sama and-'

His thoughts were cut off by a howl from above, and something landed on him, biting and clawing at him. He cried out and grabbed it, but as he did so, it opened its mouth and shot a blast of flame at his face. He screamed in pain, and fell to his knees, and the thing latched onto an arm and tried to drag him away. He responded by punching it and disappearing via Shunshin no Jutsu (6). The thing howled in rage, and snorted and chittered as it tried to find the scent. Upon its failure, it slunk into the undergrowth to rejoin its companions.

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Yoroi and Misumi watched as the three things wrapped them in silk. Now they knew that they weren't spiders, but some kind of experiment, possibly loosed in the forest to cut down the competition. They watched as another one appeared out of the undergrowth, this one smaller than the others, which appeared to be around the size of a regular wolf, except the one with the black dreadlocks was a bit smaller. Yoroi growled, disgusted that he was caught unawares by a blasted animal of all things, and they were going to eat him and his partner. Kabuto got away, most likely, if it weren't for the paralytic agent that the scorpion-tailed one (or was that ones?) had hit him with.

He was drawn out of his thoughts as the dreadlocked one scuttled over to Misumi, settled on him, and raised its abdomen. Emerging out of the end was a fleshy stinger-like thing, and it stabbed Misumi in the stomach. Misumi let out a cry of pain, and the creature moved off of him, with a trail of gel-like fluid trailing from where the ovipositor met Misumi's flesh.

Yoroi paled in realization. They weren't being cocooned to be eaten by these things. They were cocooned so they could be incubators for something! What the hell was Konoha thinking letting these things loose!? This would causes a political shitstorm of epic proportions. He saw that the creature was coming towards him, and squirmed, having gained some feeling back. He was forcibly stopped as the creature used its tentacles to hold him down, and raised its abdomen. He cried out at the ovipositor slammed into his stomach, and actually felt something enter his stomach through the stinger, and watched, fascinated and horrified as the creature pulled away, trailing the gel-like substance. It moved back, and the small one moved forward, and breathed out a soft flame, that engulfed the stabbed areas of the two men.

The two felt the objects in their bodies squirm, and expand, before they began screaming in pain. 'They're eating us!' they thought frantically. 'The eggs... they hatched and they're eating us!' They screamed as they were eaten alive by the newborn Shouhen as the other four watched coldly and impassively.

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(1) Kekkei Touta = A selection of blood inheritence; a very advanced and rare form of Kekkei Genkai

(2) Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu = Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique

(3) Sen'eijashu = Hidden Shadow Snake Hands

(4) Soujasousai = Twin Snakes Mutual Death

(5) Juuin Fuuin = Curse Seal

(6) Shunshin no Jutsu = Body Flicker Technique

Less definitions this time, but more pages; 41 according to word, with over 17,900 words. DAMN! Anyway, the Shouhen have made their debut, and Team Kabuto has been taken out of the running. I wonder who will be replacing them...

As always, your responses are much appreciated. Next up is the prelims, and we will see who is taking the place of Team Kabuto, as well as how Team Oto is gonna poke at Team 7. And in case you're one of those people wondering "Where's the damned relationship," it's coming. As always, there's some kind of hints dropped all around, so try and find them.

JA NE!


	5. The Path to Power Part II

Liking how the reviews are turning out, and I thank everyone for their support. Now we find Karin and her teammates, who were alluded to have died in the manga. Here, they are still alive, and I've done my own take on them. Now time to answer some reviews:

**The DragonBard**; Maybe, I'm not really liking Sakura at the moment, thanks to the blasted manga. I might put the two of them together, but there's another idea I'm toying with that might take place before she actually starts to like him. And the Shouhen are a bit limited in thought; they'd just protect him and anyone he specifically points out.

**Leaf Ranger**; Believe me, I wanted to kill Kabuto, but I needed him alive for the Fourth Shinobi World War, which I hope to reach with this. And yes, the Gogyou Fuuin was a massive cop out to make Sasuke look better, because that's all that happened originally in the manga.

**Nightshadegirl**; No, the paralytic agent that came from the Stinger Shouhen is temporary, but as you can see, a moment is all that is needed for things to go to hell. If Kabuto had been stung, he would have been as good as dead, though that might be debatable with his healing factor...

**Dragon Man 180**; Sasuke merely commented on the fact the Sakura looked like a true kunoichi, that doesn't necessarily mean that he is attracted to her. At the moment. It might change later, might not.

**Contramancer**; I am honored to receive such an ovation. And you do have a point; with all the crap people like Orochimaru do, carving out another person's eye is rather tame (thinking about Kakashi now...)

**Chewies Cookies**; Duly noted, and the changes are made.

Well, on with the show!

Blah Human dialogue

**Blah** Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 5: The Path To Power - The Chuunin Exams Part 2

Sakura pulled up her head with a start, a kunai at the ready. She scanned the dark forest, sure that she had heard something... something that sounded like screaming. She shook her head. There are wild animals in these woods, it could have been any of them. She cast a glance over at her help, the Brawler Shouhen, which was looking out beyond the silk barrier that the five were behind. She and the Brawler were on guard duty, and the Brain was looking over Sasuke and Naruto. Still, as far as she was concerned, anything could happen. Dead tired, she shook her head. She couldn't fall asleep. Anyone could be watching and waiting for a moment of weakness.

As it stood, they were being watched, by Team Oto. "It's almost sunrise," said Dosu. "We've found them. At daybreak, we attack. Our target is Uchiha Sasuke."

"How are we going to get through that barrier?" asked Kin. "Better still, will we want to? Imagine the size of the spider that made that... the Uchiha and his teammates are probably food."

"No," said Dosu. "I can hear their breathing... they alive in there. And it's just a web. We can blow it away."

"You mean I blow it away," snorted Zaku.

"Okay, but why do we have to kill the Uzumaki as well," asked Kin. "I think we should leave him be…"

"No one cares what you think," snapped Zaku, glaring at the nearly-asleep Sakura. "Just follow Orochimaru-sama's orders. Off the record though… that pink-haired girl looks like fun…"

Kin scoffed in disgust, and Zaku grabbed her vest in response. "You want that you and her switch places?" he growled, his free hand traveling to her breasts. Kin's response was holding some senbon to his crotch. "Try it," she snarled.

"Stop it, you two," snapped Dosu. "If you want her, you can have her after we kill Uchiha Sasuke. But if she and the blonde interfere, then kill them both."

Zaku nodded and let go of Kin. In frustrations, he tossed a kunai at the tree behind them… narrowly missing the returning Shouhen; Fire, Stinger, Webber, and Breeder. They hissed at the three, but turned away and made their way around the web-covered tree, to the rear entrance they made. On the back of Breeder were two bloody, glistening newborn Shouhen. They were both the size of a kitten; one was scaly, dark gray, and had two arms that flowed with its body. Its head had small black eyes that glinted in the moonlight, and possessed five small horns that swept backwards, and was long and thin like a snake. The other was grey with a dark green underside, and had four limbs; namely the two folded arms and digitigraded legs that had a single clawed foot, and two tails, and a pair of green eyes near the center of its face on the side of the head. It had the beak, but it also had two pincer-like protrusions were the cheeks would be, and two horns on the top of its head that swept backwards, topped by a helmet-like surface that went from the middle of the beak to the crown of its head.

Webber watched as the other walked in, and took his spot above the entrance. He heard the groan of Brawler as the Shouhen's body shifted to accommodate Webber's spinneret arms; the others weren't around long enough to start the change. The Brain approached Naruto, and motioned to Stinger, Breeder, and Fire. When the three approached, the Brain had them place a limb on the tattoo, and sent his chakra through the tattoo, reverse-summoning the three named adults and the two newborns, and returning them to their home and new prison on Uzushio. Exhausted, he curled up next to his summoner, and fell asleep.

The other Shouhen appeared in a secluded part of Uzushio. They looked around; the area was a small valley that held a lake and a small amount of wildlife, namely squirrels, rats, weasels, and fish. They had not been returned to their stasis prison... possibly due to the fact that they were awake. Well, here they could await more summons and raise the newborns, which now cried out to be fed.

They had their taste of freedom, but they could wait. They had time, now that they were awake.

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Sakura noticed that the sun had risen and sighed. Naruto and Sasuke still had not woken up, and she was dead tired. She hadn't fallen asleep due to the fact that had kept watch and tried to stop anything from approaching the temporary sanctuary.

All of a sudden, she heard an explosion; right in front of her, a blast of fire and rock tore away at the protective webbing and exposed her plus her two guards, who growled at the intruders. It also had the effect of ruining the pitfall trap she had crafted.

"Up all night?"

She jumped at the unknown voice, and shivered at the sight she saw. The Oto-nin had found them; Dosu had his bandaged head tilted, Zaku was leering at her from a tree root, and Kin looked apologetically at her, then her face hardened.

'She looks like she doesn't want to be here,' thought Sakura as she yelled, "What do you want!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Dosu as Zaku jumped beside him. "We're here to fight Sasuke-kun. Now wake him up."

"And to lower the resident squirrel population," added Zaku. Sakura narrowed her eyes, then took noticed at a spot of red that landed near the front. A burnt furry tail caused her to gag.

"Monster," growled Sakura as she glared at Zaku, and he chuckled. "Trying to scare us won't work…" He trailed off as he saw the trap. "Good thing we sent the squirrel in. That trap would have been messy."

Sakura grinned evilly and cut a wire behind her. A bunch of leaves fell down, and Dosu's eyes widened as he saw what was different about these leaves.

They had exploding tags on them. "Move!" he yelled, and the Oto-nin leapt away as the tags went off, creating a magnificent explosion.

Dosu landed some distance away, but he was caught by surprise by a massive log that fell. "Zakuuha!" came Zaku's voice, and the log was obliterated.

"I like 'em feisty," said Zaku, licking his lips as he, Dosu and Kin approached. "But you shouldn't mess with us like that…"

They were caught by surprise by Brawler who jumped down in front of Sakura and roared at the three Oto-nin. Sakura, at the moment, was grateful for its timely arrival.

"What the hell is THAT!?" asked Zaku pointing at Brawler. A hissing roar went off and Zaku was blown backwards by a blast of webbing. Webber crawled next to Brawler and let off a warning hiss.

"What the hell are those thing?" asked Kin, stepping back.

"Who cares!?" yelled Zaku. He was stuck to a tree and struggled to release himself. "We can take them!"

Brawler seemed to welcome the challenge, as he rushed Dosu and delivered a swiping blow that threw the Oto-nin into several trees. He turned its gaze to Kin, and rushed her, even as she threw senbon with bells attached at the Shouhen. Brawler jumped at her, but passed through and turned his head both ways, looking for his quarry.

There are an explosion, and Brawler turned toward the sound to see Zaku, his clothes slightly torn and dirty. "I had to blast myself," growled Zaku. "I don't know what you are, but I do know that you're in the way."

Brawler roared and ran at Zaku, who ran at the approaching Shouhen. When they were mere feet away, Brawler leapt at Zaku, claws outstretched and teeth bared. Zaku responded by shoving his hands toward and sending a blast of air waves. The blasts impacted with the airborne Shouhen, who was sent flying back into a horde of trees, where he collapsed.

Webber rushed forward, shooting bursts of silk at Zaku, who blasted the projectiles away. Webber kept firing, until it had Zaku pinned against a tree. Suddenly, Dosu appeared and struck his gauntlet; the Melody Device. It sent out a burst of sound waves that caused the Shouhen to shriek in pain, and drop onto its belly, where it squirmed until Kin appeared and knocked it out with a kunai butt to the head.

"Now then," said Zaku, as he was joined by his teammates, and turned back to Sakura, who held a two kunai in her hands. "Where were we?"

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To be blunt, we all know what happened next. Lee came out of nowhere and Chuck Norris-ed Zaku, Dosu, and Kin; Lee caught Dosu in his forbidden Taijutsu move, the Omote Renge (Forward Lotus), but Zaku saved Dosu at the last minute; and Lee got his ass kicked by Dosu, all while Team 10 watched from the safety of the dense brush.

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"Look's like Sakura's in trouble," said Shikamaru as he watched Dosu kick the downed Lee. "Both Naruto and Sasuke are out cold, from the way it looks. What should we do, Ino?"

"What are you asking me for?" asked Ino.

"You're not gonna let her take them alone, are you?" he asked. "I mean, the two of you used to be friends…"

"I know!" snapped Ino, as she remembered the day they stopped. "But what can we do? We can't just jump out!"

In the meantime, Sakura threw shuriken after shuriken at the Oto-nin, but Zaku kept blocking them with his Zankuuha attack. "Damn those barrels in his arms," she cursed as she shielded her face. "Damn air pressure… he just keeps coming… I wish I had some water nearby-" She was caught from behind by Kin, who grabbed the top of her hair.

"Gomen," whispered Kin to Sakura, then said out loud, "Much more luster than mine… looks like we have a wannabe kunoichi sex-icon. If you've got the time to do your hair, then train, you sorry excuse of a kunoichi."

Sakura, knowing from Kin's apology, knew that she didn't mean the insults she hurled. It still pissed her off, though. Mainly because she _did _do that at first.

"Good job, Kin," said Zaku, as he turned to face Sakura's unconscious teammates. "Now, we're gonna kill the Uchiha and the Uzumaki in front of her, then me and Dosu are gonna have some fun with her…"

"Don't drag me in your fantasies," muttered Dosu as he turned to Sakura's teammates as well. He was caught by surprise by a blast of webbing that impacted on his chest, and the Webber appeared, struggling towards them despite the debilitating sound waves. Dosu growled, and flicked his gauntlet again. The Webber let out a hissing shriek and collapsed, knocked unconscious by the blast, and blasted it into a hoard of trees by Zaku.

"What the hell was that thing?" asked Ino.

"Something we've never seen before," said Shikamaru. "Then again, we've never been in here before, so it could have been here." He looked back at the fighting. "I just wonder how Sakura's going to get out of this one."

Knowing somehow that the Webber had bought her time, Sakura knew she had to take this chance. "Gomen," she whispered to Kin, before she drew a kunai and sliced Kin's arm. Kin cried out and let her go, and Sakura rushed the surprised Zaku.

"Kin!" shouted Zaku, and Kin pulled out four senbon and rushed the running Sakura, catching her in the side. Sakura was replaced with a log, and she rushed Zaku from the right, wielding eight kunai, intent on castrating the Oto-nin who wanted to have his way with her.

"Bah," growled Zaku as Sakura threw the kunai, and held out his arms. "Zankuuha!" he yelled, and blew the kunai back at Sakura, who turned into another log. "Maybe you're more skilled with your mouth than jutsu!" he shouted, grinning.

Sakura snarled and launched an aerial attack. Zaku saw her coming, and pulled out four kunai. He was surprised when he was held from behind by another Sakura. "What the hell!?"

Sakura grinned and kicked him in the face, and the Sakura in front turned into a log. Sakura delivered a solid right cross, but was cold-cocked by Zaku, knocking her away. Walking to her and picking her up by the front of her dress, he pulled out a kunai. "I should warn you… the first time's always a bit… messy."

Zaku was kicked out of nowhere, and Sakura fell back. Looking up, she saw in front of her Team 10, with Ino standing in front of her. "Sakura… I won't lose to you. I already told you that," said Ino to Sakura.

"Pft…" growled Zaku as he stood. "More freaks? Least I know that Dosu can have fun now too…"

No one had noticed the smoke rising from Sasuke's shoulder, and no one cared at the moment. Ino was pissed that the male Oto-nin were that brazen to rape Sakura, Shikamaru was annoyed that he had to be there, Chouji was annoyed because he was hungry, Zaku was both annoyed and leering at Ino's state of dress, Kin was annoyed because she was forced into this mess her teammates were now in, Dosu was annoyed that more Konoha insects had shown up, and Sakura was annoyed because she was saved by her former best friend. Not that she didn't appreciate it, of course.

"Ino…" said Sakura, wiped blood from the corner of her mouth.

"You won't be the only one who'll look good in front of Sasuke-kun," said Ino. "Sorry to get you guys involved," she said to her teammates. "But we're a team, and we share the same destiny. We'll get through this somehow…"

"Correction," said Zaku, crossing his arms. "You and Pinky share the same destiny, the rest of you Konoha worms can die by our hand… starting with you, fatass."

Chouji stiffened. "What… did you just say?" Shikamaru slumped, muttering, "That word is taboo on our team…"

Zaku smirked. "Sorry… did I touch a nerve? Why don't you run home and cry to mommy… fatass?"

Chouji lost it. "I'm not a fatass! I'm pleasantly plump! And you're fucking dead!"

"Well, he's snapped," said Ino.

"This is gonna suck so much…" whined Shikamaru.

"Sakura!" said Ino to her downed friend. "Take care of Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun! -Ino- Shika-Chou Generation Two will handle it from here!"

"Okay!" roared Chouji. "Baika no Jutsu (Multi-size Technique)!" Chouji's body grew to twice its normal size, and he pulled in his arms, legs, and head. When he started to roll, Zaku laughed and said, "It's just a rolling fatass! Zankuuha!" He blasted the rolling Chouji with his air waves, and to his shock, the rolling Chouji went up.

"What the…?" went Zaku as the round ball of flesh came falling. "Damn," he cursed. "I can't use any sound attacks…"

"Zaku, move!" yelled Dosu as he ran to his teammate. He found himself unable to move due to his shadow connected with Shikamaru's. "Kagemane no Jutsu… success," said the Konoha shadow user. Shikamaru then proceeded to make an ass out of Dosu as Zaku moved out of the way when Chouji plowed into the ground.

Now Kin was even more annoyed. "What the hell are you doing!?" she yelled at Dosu; not out of concern, but because she wanted to get out of here.

"Shikamaru, keep my body safe," said Ino as she put her hands into the Bird Seal. "Shintenshin no Jutsu…" As Ino's mind left her body, Shikamaru caught her body before it fell, his shadow still connected with Dosu's.

Ino took over Kin's body, and pulled out a kunai and yelled out, "It's over now! If you two don't back off, your teammate is dead!"

Zaku and Dosu showed how much they cared about their teammate. Zaku held up his left arm and sent a blast of air at the Ino-possessed Kin, causing her to collide with a tree. As Kin fell to her front and coughed up blood, Ino's body did the same.

"Wha… why…?" gasped out Ino through Kin's mouth.

"You guys are idiots," said Zaku. Dosu elaborated with, "Our goal isn't to complete this exam or get some stupid scrolls… our goal is the death of the Uchiha kid, and anyone else who gets in our way!"

"Damn," cursed Shikamaru as his shadow retreated. "What a fine time for my jutsu to run out…"

Dosu and Zaku chuckled as Dosu was freed. "From the looks of things," said Dosu, flexing his arm with his Melody Device, "that shadow jutsu of yours only lasts five minutes."

"And it looks like we can kill your pretty blonde friend if we kill Kin," said Zaku. "Shame, too… the two of them are pretty hot…"

"Disgusting," came a voice.

Team 10, Sakura, and the Oto-nin looked up to see Neji on a tree branch with Tenten crouching beside him. "What's this… some Oto-nin bullies picking on some weaklings… and declaring victory?"

Ignoring Dosu's talk of "Konoha-nin cockroaches", Neji glanced down at his unconscious teammate. "Looks like you screwed up… huh, Lee?" he said to himself. To those present, he said, "That unconscious freak is ours, and… you're going to pay for that!" He punctuated that last part by activating his Byakugan. "If you go on, I'm going all out."

"Fine," said Zaku, pointing his arms toward them and firing a Zankuuha at Neji and Tenten. The two jumped aside and onto another tree, and Tenten prepared to open a scroll. Neji held out his arm and stopped her. "It looks like we won't have to do a thing."

At that moment, something unexpected (?) happened. Sasuke, smoke swirling around him, slowly rose to his feet.

"Sasuke-kun?" gasped Ino as she sat up.

Sasuke had his Sharingan activated, but now he had dark purple flame-like marks over the left side of his body. And the chakra he was giving off was sickly and nauseating. "Sakura…" he growled. "Who did that to you…?"

'He survived!?' thought Dosu aghast. 'He had the Curse Seal put on him, and he survived!?'

"Yes," laughed Zaku, smirking. "It was I!"

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Naruto woke, feeling wet. "I haven't wet the bed in years," he groaned. "I hope no one's around..." Opening his eyes, he noticed that it was nearly dark, but he could see pipes above him. Sitting up, he noticed that he was sitting in a hallway filled with ankle-deep water. "Okay, so I didn't wet myself," he muttered. "But how the hell did I get in a sewer? The last thing I remember is..."

"**Come...**" came a haunting voice down the hall.

Naruto frowned. "It would be stupid to follow the creepy voice down the creepy hallway... but against my better judgment, I'll do it anyway." He stood, and walked down the hallway.

"**Come...**"

Naruto walked down the low-lit hallway, following all the twists and turns in took, until he came across a massive room. At the other end was a gilded cages, with a small piece of paper hanging vertically from the where the two doors met. "No way is my luck that bad," he muttered. He turned to go elsewhere, when he heard the voice call again, directly behind him.

"**Come...**"

He frowned. 'Well, I've come this far,' he thought, and approached the cage. All he saw was utter blackness. Suddenly, a pair of red eyes opened in front of him, and a massive claw reached through the bars, reaching for him. He dropped onto his butt, and scrambled backwards through the water, until he was a comfortable distance away.

"**You little coward...**" rumbled gravely voice from the cage, and the eyes narrowed.

"It's not cowardice," Naruto retorted. "It's sense. You are the great and terrible Kyuubi no Kitsune..."

"**So you know who I am, do you?**" the Kyuubi snarked. "**Bravo. Give the boy a bone.**"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" shot Naruto. He couldn't resist that one.

"**And he makes jokes, too,**" growled the Kyuubi. "**I wish I could kill you, but this seal won't let me. I almost had you years ago...**"

"What the hell does that mean?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes.

The Kyuubi chuckled darkly. "**I was free and clear, all those years ago. But then, he happened... the masked Uchiha, who stunk of flesh and plants. He took my mind, and made me attack you all, but when that wretch the Yondaime freed me, I knew that I was bound to be sealed again, so I tried to destroy you all. But that sniveling bastard managed to seal me in you...**" The Kyuubi grinned, revealing a snout filled with razor-sharp teeth. "**At least I was able to kill him and your whore of a mother.**"

At the jab at his parents, specifically his mother, Naruto snarled. "You... you bastard!" he yelled. "You were a victim in all of this, but then you tried to kill the innocents!? They had nothing to do with it! And my mother was a saint!"

"**I am a Youkai,**" the Kyuubi growled. "**Killing is what I do... I kill what I wish, whenever I wish, in order to survive. And speak not of innocents. No human is ever truly innocent, except the newborns. And even then, you reveal your true natures as you grow. That you crave power... and will not stop until you have it all.**"

"I don't want your power-"

"**But you will use it,**" the Kyuubi interrupted. "**That's what you humans do. You use whatever power you get, abuse it, then toss away the dried-up husk that was the source like trash, and go seek another source.**"

As Naruto prepared his retort, he stopped and thought. Kitsune were tricksters according the legend, but also bound to their word, as long as one had their Hi-no-Tama. But this one, the Kyuubi, was unlike those. He was so angry, ever so angry, at all of humanity. "I'm not like them," he said slowly. "I've seen the dark side of humanity, and I hate it. I'm not like the humans you talk about. I'm a victim, just like you."

"**Don't you dare try to compare us!**" the Kyuubi roared, blasting Naruto back. "**We are nothing alike! I walked this planet when you were barely a thought in your ancestor's loins! I walked through pain and torment, and lost my siblings to all of wretched humanity! If I have suffer through this world, a world that was undeservingly saved, then I will sow suffering as I go through it.**"

Naruto, sensing this was going nowhere, stood. "You're angry," he said. "Angry at the world, angry at humanity, and... angry at yourself, I think."

"**You think!?**" snarled the Kyuubi. "**I'm a mass of hate and rage. I once was a calm and peaceful being, but this wretched world has seen to that. And nothing you do can change that!**"

"Someday," said Naruto. "I'll show you that not all humans are the same. And on that day, will you let go of your anger? Will you let go of your hate?"

The Kyuubi snorted, whether in amusement or disgust was debatable. "**You're no better off than I am. You're angry at the world and this wretched village as well. I'll admit, that is partially my fault, but the rest, they did on their own.**"

"I-"

"**Don't even try to lie,**" the Kyuubi interrupted. "**I'm a Kitsune. We are masters of truth and manipulations, for that is how we work... through the devilish details. You may try to hide it, to put on a happy face, but you are angry and hate many things... especially these humans you're surrounded by. Proof of that lies right here.**" He pushed something gently forward, through the cage, and Naruto's widened his eyes. It looked like him, except it had black sclera and red eyes, and was wearing his old orange jumpsuit.

"Hello... Hikari," said the doppelganger. "I'm Yami... and I'm taking your place."

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Sasuke stood there, smoke swirling around his form as the flame marks swirled over his left side, and glared at the Genin before him.

"Sasuke…" gasped out Sakura as she stood on her knees. "Your body…"

Sasuke flexed his hand and glanced at Sakura, making her extremely uncomfortable as the glowing Sharingan. "I feel… fantastic. And I know why _he_ gave it to me… I am an Avenger… I must gain power by any means necessary… even if it means selling my flesh to the devil."

As Zaku glared at Sasuke, Dosu looked on with apprehension. 'Damned Curse Seal… Orochimaru-sama knew it was on him, and he made us challenge the Uchiha…'

"So…" said Sasuke, glaring at the Oto-nin. "It was you…"

Shikamaru ran off to the side, supporting Ino's body. "Ino," he yelled out. "Get out of there, you'll get dragged into this, too!"

Using Kin's body, Ino released herself from the host, and returned to her real body. She started moaning when the nagging pain hit her. Shikamaru patted her shoulder and said, "Welcome back."

Kin, on the other hand, fell clutching her injured body. 'Damn those two!' she cursed in her head. 'Damn them both!'

Dosu began to feel uneasy as he watched the marks of the Curse Seal overtake Sasuke's face. "His chakra is increasing… it's becoming too much to handle!"

"So what!" shouted Zaku to his teammate as he held out his arms. "There's no need to fear a half-dead freak!" Ignoring his teammate's protests, he sent out a massive blast of wind, yelling, "Zankuukyokuha (1)!" His attack sent massive winds in the same direction, and demolished the area they were in.

When the dust died down, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. "Heh," said Zaku, smirking. "Blew that sucker to bits."

"What sucker was that?"

Zaku's eyes widened in shock as he slowly turned his head. He was sent flying by a blow from Sasuke, who had appeared right next to him. 'Fast!' he thought, as he stood shakily to his feet.

Sakura had the same thoughts too, but she turned her head to the tree roots. Naruto was still unconscious, but she could see him starting to twitch. 'Please stop taking your time and wake up, Naruto!' she thought as she watched Sasuke send a bunch of fireballs at Zaku.

Zaku laughed and used another Zankuuha to blast away the fire, but his eyes widened when he saw the shuriken flying at him. "No way," he breathed. "He hid shuriken in the flames!?" Caught completely by surprise, he was barely able to shield his face as the shuriken collided with him.

"Zaku, below!"

Zaku looked down at his teammate's yell, and looked on as Sasuke was below him for a short time, then reappeared behind him; his foot on Zaku's back while pulling on his arms.

Ino watched on in awe and a bit of horror. 'His chakra is way different than it was back during the academy… that can't be Sasuke!'

"Heh," said Sasuke, smiling sadistically as his grip on Zaku's arms tightened. "You're proud of these arms, aren't you?" He frowned when Zaku chuckled, and saw Zaku point his palms at him.

"Hell yeah," said Zaku, then he yelled, "Zankuukyokuha!"

Were it not for the Curse Seal providing some (read: very little) protection, Sasuke would've been obliterated at that close of range. Instead, the attack sent him flying backwards, where he landed against the very tree Neji and Tenten stood on and slumped, momentarily stunned.

Zaku, who at this point appeared to have just about lost his mind, smirked and wiped the blood from his mouth. "He didn't die," he said, glancing at Sakura. "Pity."

Sakura knew what was going to happen. She tried to back up, but Zaku was upon her in seconds. "Leave me alone!" she snapped, kicking him.

Zaku caught her leg and hit her across the head, momentarily disorienting her. He didn't count on Ino coming out of nowhere and hitting him. "Two for me?" he asked cheekily.

"None for you," snarled Ino, brandishing a kunai. Shikamaru and Chouji tried to aid her, but Zaku aimed one of his arms at them.

"First I'm gonna have my fun with you, Pinky," he said, leering at Sakura as he aimed his other arm in Ino's face. "Then I'm gonna show your broken body to the Uchiha and kill him, then I'm gonna show both of your bodies to the Uzumaki and kill him as well. And then…" he trailed off, leering at Ino. "You're next, blondie."

Ino shivered, she knew that he could go through with his threats and she knew that unless a _deus ex machina_ came along, she and Sakura were one-time playthings for this twisted Oto-nin.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto tensed. "But you're me. How can you take my place?"

"I'm your dark half," said Yami Naruto. "I am all of your negativity manifested... everything those wretched villagers did to us, all of the hate forced on us for saving their ungrateful asses... I am all that. And I want to see everything destroyed."

Naruto frowned. "And the fact that I still have dark tendencies myself means nothing?"

This made Yami and the Kyuubi raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" asked Yami.

"I still hate some of the village," said Naruto. "If you've been with me, then you know how our family was forgotten. I hate the village for that. And I still haven't forgiven Minato for what he did to me... to us," he motioned to Yami. "However, I still have those that I care about, like Hokage-ji-san and Iruka-sensei, and my friends."

"And where were they when you needed them?" shot back Yami. "Nowhere. Even that bitch Hina-"

Yami was thrown backwards by the punch that broke his nose with a loud crack. He hit the cage and landed facedown in the water. Naruto growled, his features growing feral. "Don't you dare call her that," he growled. "She is the closest thing to an angel in this whole blasted village! She's the most innocent girl of all the kunoichi I- we know!"

"And where was she when we needed comfort?" responded Yami, sitting up and cracking his nose back into place. "Where was she when we were downtrodden by the villagers? Nowhere to be found."

"She's a Hyuuga," Naruto tried to defend her. "She-"

"If you mattered so much to her, she would have been there trying to help you," interrupted Yami. "But she wasn't. And she is hardly innocent. She burns with desire for you. You have to have smelled it. Kyuubi-sama made you better, after all."

Naruto twitched. "You mean that you made my hair two colors?" he directed to the Kyuubi.

"**And so much more,**" the Kitsune chuckled. "**I altered your special chakra that had been partially locked by that damned Yondaime, and made you more of a beast. Those feelings of a pack, the extra senses, did you actually think that they came from your Uzumaki genes? No, it was I... all for the cause of my amusement and your eventual torment at a loss of control.**"

Naruto frowned. It did no good to get mad right now, because that's was those two trolls wanted. Well, he wasn't going to feed them. He sighed and began walking away.

"Where do you think you're going, coward?" shouted Yami, rushing at him, claws outstretched. He was inches away, when Naruto turned around and hugged him. "W-What are you...?"

"I'm sorry," said Naruto. "But I've got better things to do than argue with myself and the great and terrible Kyuubi." With that, he drew a kunai and buried it in the back of Yami, who cried out in pain. Naruto held the doppelganger as he gasped out a "H-How?"

"Because I've made my peace with the past... I still look back with bitterness and a deal of anger, but not with blind hate." Yami let out a "S-Screw y-you," before turning into a red haze and flowing into Naruto. The kunai dropped to the water and splashed, and Naruto, who had closed his eyes, opened them and stared at the Kyuubi. "You're right," he said. "I do want power... the power to protect those close to me. You say I'm no different than the other humans, but I aim to prove you wrong. I won't use and abuse the power I've been given, and I won't use yours as proof. Do you hear me? I will not take your power from you. And someday, I will show you that not all humans are the power-hungry creatures you say they are... that's a promise of a lifetime."

The Kyuubi stared impassively at the human. He remembered something similar... back when that rat bastard Uchiha Madara first controlled him, and he had been freed and sealed into Senju-Uzumaki Mito.

_"Stay tranquil inside me, Kyuubi-sama," said Mito, her dark gray eyes gazing sadly into the Kyuubi's red rage-filled ones. "If you use your power, only hatred will come from it. So please, stay tranquil inside me, and let your justifiable rage ebb away with time."_

"**Go,**" muttered the Kyuubi. "**Go and prove that you can survive without my power. But know this...**" he glared at Naruto. "**If you die, I die, and I have no wish to face oblivion. Therefore, I will take any necessary measures to ensure your survival. Know wretch, that the Kitsune is always watching.**" As Naruto nodded a little, the Kyuubi watched as he disappeared down the hall. "**I think he actually believes he can try to survive with using my power... using own his Uzumaki genes and his doujutsu. Admirable... but I suppose for his efforts, I should give him a taste of my power... and see if he wants more...**"

xxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto woke up, and sat up groaning. He looked to his right, and saw that Sasuke was gone. Looking to his left showed him that the Brain was asleep. He frowned, but then heard Zaku's proclamation. He snarled. You don't treat women like that! You don't! Suddenly, he heard the Kyuubi chuckling. "What are you laughing at?" he muttered. "And how are you talking to me?"

"**You humans,**" said the Kyuubi. "**You are the race that invented crimes such as rape... taking a natural process of life, the creation of life between two beings, and turning it into an abominable act.** **As to how we are talking... that is not important right now. You said that you wanted power to save your packmates?**"

"Something like that," said Naruto. "But I want to do it on my own."

"**I hear you,**" said the Kyuubi. "**But like I said, if you die, I die, and I will do anything to prevent that. To that end, I grant you a small boon... a taste of my power.**"

"W-Wait-" Naruto started, but then he saw the red chakra surge from his belly, and flow upwards. He was bombarded by all new sensations, and felt the blood rushing through his head. His higher reasoning temporarily disabled, he only knew one thing.

Protect the packmates.

Everyone present heard and felt what came next, and were afraid when they saw the source. They heard the small explosion; a splintering of wood, and a resounding crack like a thunder-strike. Then they felt it the bloodlust, the incredible bloodlust.

Sakura heard the explosion, and suddenly, a familiar form stood between the two Konoha-kunoichi and Zaku. "Naru…!" began Sakura, but she trailed off, her eyes widening as she took in his appearance.

Naruto had woken up, and he was seething. He stood in front of Zaku, growling and looking like a feral beast; his whisker-marks were increasingly pronounced, his fangs had lengthened, and his fingernails had lengthened into claws. And his eyes…

His eyes were a blood red with slitted pupils, and they held the promise of a slow painful death.

Sakura scrambled backwards. Whatever this was was something new, something Naruto had never shown before. 'Was this his Uzumaki Kekkei?' she asked herself. 'Was this what his special chakra did? Turn him into an animal like this!?'

Dosu was visibly shivering now. He could see the Hyuuga struggling to move, and the fatass and the shadow-user were trembling and unable to move. 'Such… such power!' he gasped in his mind. 'Feels like… one wrong move, and we're dead! What the hell is he!?'

Zaku managed to find himself being able to move. Smirking nervously, he jumped back slightly and pointed his arms at Naruto. "S-so what? Another half-dead freak!? You're nothing against…"

Zaku was interrupted when Naruto sprang forward with surprising speed and delivered a bone-shattering punch to Zaku's gut. Zaku was thrown backwards by the force of the blow and collided with a tree trunk, yelling out in pain and spitting up blood. "You bastard!" he yelled, pointing his arms at the beastly Naruto.

"Zaku, stop!" yelled Dosu. He could _see_ and _feel _the red chakra Naruto was giving off, and it unnerved him. "That'll only piss him off!"

"Protect…" snarled out Naruto, hunched over as he stalked past the startled Ino. "Protect… the packmates… PROTECT!"

'What the hell is going on!?' thought Shikamaru frantically as he watched in fear as Naruto strode past Ino, who was shivering badly. When he was gone, Ino scrambled over to Sakura and helped her to her feet, the two watching in morbid awe.

Zaku, the object of Naruto's current ire, thrust his hands forward and concentrated as much chakra as he could spare into his arms. "DIE!" he yelled. "Zankuukyokuha!" A blast of wind and air pressure, much larger than the first one he had sent at Sasuke, shot forth and blasted forward, all of its power ripping up earth and dust.

Naruto, seeing the blast coming, stood upright and inhaled deeply. When he shot his head forward, he issued forth a massive roar; a roar that reverberated throughout the area and reflected his anger at the brazen Oto-nin who would dare to lay hands on his mate.

The roar was a sonic roar, as it appeared, for it had completely dispelled Zaku's Ultimate Air Slice and slammed into the stunned Oto-nin with equal and terrible force. Zaku screamed out in pain as he flew backwards and slammed into a tree, the force of the sonic roar pinning him to the tree until Naruto ceased his attack.

The force of the roar was so great that it moved the fear-struck shinobi present backwards from their original spots. "What… what the hell is he?" said Neji as he pulled Tenten up.

Zaku fell from the tree onto his knees. He looked up to see Naruto crouching in front of the Konoha-nin, and his rage fueled his body. "I'm gonna kill you!" he yelled, and rushed the Konoha-nin, pulling out two hooked, serrated kunai.

"Zaku, stop!" yelled Dosu, but his teammate ignored him. 'This guy…' thought Dosu, casting a fear-stricken eye on Naruto. 'This guy is horrifying!'

Zaku was halfway to Naruto before said shinobi jumped at Zaku and kicked him in his chin. Zaku began to fly backwards, but Naruto wasn't finished with him yet. The enraged Uzumaki snarled, and delivered a heel drop to Zaku's sternum, causing the Oto-nin to slam into the ground, gasping for breath.

Frantically trying to stand and breath, Zaku looked up to see Naruto deliver a swift roundhouse kick, which he tried to block with both arms.

Big mistake.

The sound of cracking bone filled the area, as Zaku fell to his knees, crying out in pain at his broken arms. Naruto wasn't done with him yet, and he kicked Zaku in his ribs, sending the Oto-nin sideways to the base of a tree.

Dosu knew that Uzumaki was a threat when he first saw him, and now he knew that he and his teammates were effectively screwed. Uzumaki was out for blood, and he knew that he and Kin were next on his blacklist.

Naruto stalked towards Zaku like a hunter, when he came across a wide-eyed, hyperventilating Kin. No doubt she thought she was going to get the same treatment as Zaku. On some primal instinct, she realized that she was dealing with a vicious beast, ruled by its instinct. She realized that if she wanted to survive, then she would probably have to submit to this Konoha-nin... in more ways than one. She made a slow motion to open her arms, to bare herself to him, hoping that he accepted the gift.

In any case, she wasn't in Naruto's blacklist. Naruto jumped over the female Oto-nin aside (said female Oto-nin hyperventilating), and continued toward the gasping Zaku. He extended his claws and let a growl escape his throat. "You... hurt… packmates…" he growled out. Raising his clawed hand, ready to rip out Zaku's throat, he gazed down at the wide-eyed gasping Oto-nin. "You enemy... You die…"

He was grabbed from behind by two sets of arms; one set held his raised arm, the other set held his other arm. He sniffed, and detected the feminine scents, and cast a glaring red eye to see… Sakura and Ino.

"Naruto," said Sakura, a lone tear streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around him. "Please… stop," finished Ino, to her own amazement. "You've beaten him, and saved us. Please…"

Dosu watched as the two kunoichi held onto Uzumaki, and tensed, as Naruto growled. He breathed a sigh of relief when he went back to normal, at least, the way he saw him in the Chuunin Exam room. 'Looks like we're safe… for now,' he thought. "You're strong," he said out loud, slowly approaching them.

"Does this guy have a death wish?" asked Chouji to Shikamaru.

"No," said Shikamaru. "This fight's done."

Meanwhile, Dosu had stopped five feet away from Naruto and the two kunoichi that were barely holding him in check, and put down an Earth Scroll. "This is a token of our gratitude, for letting us live," he said as he turned away and picked up Kin. She was still hurt from Zaku's attack. Speaking of which…

Zaku was helped up later, and limped with an arm over Dosu's shoulder. Zaku glared tiredly at Naruto, who glared right back. "You owe Sakura-chan and Ino-chan your life…" said the Uzumaki, retracting his claws. "Next time… I may not stop." He gave no reaction when Ino muttered, "Don't call me 'chan'."

"Be that as it may," said Dosu, maintaining a safe distance away while moving his teammates. "There's something we must find out. But should we meet again, we will not run." Turning away, he heard Sakura shout out something about Orochimaru. "We were just following orders… and he ordered us to kill your teammates." 'But why give the Uchiha the Curse Seal?' he asked in his head. 'Something's not right about this…' And with that, the Oto-nin disappeared.

Neji watched with apprehension as Naruto fell to his knees, supported by Sakura and Ino. 'He's no mere dead last…' thought the stoic Hyuuga. 'And that red chakra…' "We're done here, Tenten," said Neji to his female teammate. "Let's get Lee and get out of here."

The two jumped down, and hoisted Lee up, his arms on their shoulders, then took off.

At that point, Sasuke chose to come to. The Curse Seal covering his left side, he stood and glared at Naruto, his chakra spike catching everyone's attention. "Dobe…" he called. "Fight me."

Naruto looked tiredly over to Sasuke and growled, "I'm in no mood for your games, Sasuke-teme. I just woke up after, and I suitably annoyed. You don't want to mess with me right now."

Sasuke chuckled and said, "I'm an Avenger. I have to gain power to kill _that_ man. And this power… I can test it against you." He went through a flurry of seals, ending in Tiger. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" He exhaled a giant fireball that raced towards Naruto and the two kunoichi.

Naruto grabbed Sakura and Ino around their waists, and ignoring their startled yelps, jumped to the side to avoid the incoming projectile. Setting them down next to Shikamaru and Chouji, he rushed at Sasuke, and before the Uchiha could react, Naruto gave him a crushing blow that knocked him into the tree he hit before and out of consciousness.

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Sasuke came to, he sat up and immediately clutched his head. "Urgh… my head…"

"Morning, sunshine."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he glared at his blonde teammate. "Don't call me that," he snapped. He then saw Ino and Sakura conversing with each other, and took note of Chouji and Shikamaru. "Why are they here?"

Naruto grinned, baring his fangs and said, "Strength in numbers. Both of our teams have equal scrolls, so we decided to join forces on the way to the tower. Now all we have to do is meet up with Team 8 and the Rookie Nine is set…"

Sasuke snorted. "Did you get hit in the head? That Orochimaru guy burned our Heaven Scroll." He sputtered when Naruto held up a Heaven Scroll. "How… when…?"

"I switched the scroll and made a clone of it, and gave you the clone," said Naruto. "Gotta love the versatility of Kage Bunshin…"

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Naruto, what happened with you? You were nothing like this back in the academy…"

Ino nodded and added, "I was wondering that myself."

Naruto looked down at the ground, and remembered that he and his team were still under orders not to talk about the Uzumaki clan. However, that didn't mean that he couldn't talk about his present relatives and his fath... Minato's clan. Therefore, he decided he would do a bit of both. Naruto let out of a small sigh and patted his medium scroll next to him. "This scroll… contains my clan history, and all their knowledge. Only a member of the clan can read from the scroll, and I'm the last one."

That set a somber mood. Naruto perked up grinning and said, "But a month ago, we found that I have relatives... they're in the village right now, and they're teaching me things that they didn't teach in the academy. With their help, I can achieve my dream of being Hokage and putting together a family."

Team 10 accepted that answer. "What about what happened with the Oto-nin?" asked Ino. "What was that about?"

"A special ability, and leave it at that," said Naruto, standing running to the tree trunk that had been Team 7's sanctuary. He found the Brain still curled up, and scooped the Shouhen into his bag that had been left on the ground. That woke up the Shouhen, who squirmed. "Welcome back, Brain," he said.

The Brain pushed the image of Brawler and Webber into his head. Naruto cursed and went around the tree, confusing the others. He found Webber struggling to its six legs, and patted its head. "Good job," he said. "Now how to get you back...?"

The Brain motioned to the tattoo, and Naruto placed one of Webber's arms on the tattoo and sent chakra through it. Webber disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Naruto went to look for Brawler to do the same thing. He found Brawler rising to its feet, and rubbed its head. The Shouhen let out a growling purr, and Naruto placed its head on the tattoo, and sent chakra through, returning the Shouhen back to the others. When he rejoined Team 7 and 10, he found Team 10 watching with apprehension. "What?"

"Those were your things?" asked Ino.

"Yes," said Naruto. They're family summons called the Shouhen."

"What kind of a name is Sli-?"

"Don't call them than," interrupted Naruto. "That makes them sound like something you need to get rid of."

"In any case," said Shikamaru, standing up. "We only have three more days to get to the tower. We could go now, or search for Team 8 and make for the tower with due haste."

"In any event," added Sasuke. "I think that if we go now, then we'll be there three days before the deadline. If we start looking for them, then we could risk getting to the tower too late."

"True," said Naruto. "But at least if we get attacked, it'll be nine-on-three."

Sasuke sighed in defeat. "Okay, let's get started then."

xxxxxxxxxxx

It was nearing sunset, and the six Genin still hadn't found Team 8. They were leaping through the trees, and finally came to a rest at a clearing. "Like I said," said Sasuke as he landed in front of a tree. "We've wasted a day, and now we're pressed for time."

"Oh, shut up," muttered Naruto as he pulled off his scroll. "We're only 4 kilometers away from the tower, so we could go there whenever we're ready."

"Looks like Team 8 might not get through this," said Shikamaru lying on his back, catching his breath.

"Don't count us out yet!" came a voice from the trees. And in front of them dropped Kiba, Hinata, and Shino; all looking relatively unharmed for three days in the Forest of Death. Kiba stepped forward, Akamaru quivering in his parka. "You guys don't look so good," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in the mood, Kibbles," said Naruto.

"What was that?"

"You heard me," said Naruto to the glaring Kiba. "Not in the mood. And what's got your owner so spooked?"

Kiba growled. "How many times do I have to tell you that Akamaru's not my owner, he's my partner!?"

"You have to show me first," retorted Naruto.

"Cut it out, you two," said Sasuke, playing the mediator for once. "We need to get to that tower as soon as possible, and the two of you yelling is gonna bring unwanted company here, so shut it. Now we need to go..."

"In the morning," said Shikamaru as he used a lighter to light a fire in the rapidly increasing darkness. "I doubt that any of you have night vision, and this is the only real time where we can rest. Just like the other teams."

Staring at the shadow user, the two males turned away and sat as far from each other as possible. "S-so," said Hinata, trying to break the ice, "how has everyone done s-so far?"

"Well," said Shikamaru, lying on his side, "we managed to get both scrolls by the second day, and we ended up saving Team 7's hides from a bunch of Oto-nin…"

Kiba snorted. "Damn, you guys…"

"Shove it, Kiba," said Naruto, his eyes closed as he leaned back against a tree, his bag next to him. The Brain poked its head out, drawing the attention of Team 8.

"I take it that that is your family summons, the Shouhen. Or at least one of them," said Shino, motioning to the Brain.

"Yep," said Naruto, opening his eyes. "Which reminds me, I need to find the other Uzumaki in the forest."

"Another one?" groaned Kiba. "Where are they coming from?"

"What do you mean?" asked Chouji. "There are other Uzumaki?"

"Somewhere out there," said Naruto. "I heard a rumor that there might be one here, so I'm going to look for her."

"You can't find anyone in the dark," retorted Kiba.

"**The Hunter**," came the Brain's voice in Naruto's head. Naruto nodded, and bit his finger, drawing blood. He swiped his blood on the tattoo, and put a hand on the ground, and sent a surge of chakra. In a puff of smoke, the Hunter appeared, it's two heads looking around in each direction.

"What the hell is that?" exclaimed Ino, moving back little into Chouji.

"The Hunter Shouhen," said Naruto. "He can track down anything I direct him at." He turned his attention to the Hunter. "There is another Uzumaki in this forest. Find the Uzumaki, and call out when you find her."

The Shouhen stared at him blankly, then the right head latched its jaws around his forearm. Naruto yelped, and the Shouhen hung on for a little, then let go. It walked to the left , then the right, its two heads aimed at the sky. Then the two heads looked to the left, and it took off, disappearing into the underbrush.

"That went well, I think," said Naruto, massaging his arm.

Kiba laughed. "It bit you! Shows how much control you have!" Kiba yelped as the Brain launched itself at him and smacked him with its tail. It then slithered over to Hinata, and rested itself in her lap.

"I think the Brain like you," commented Naruto, and Hinata blushed. Naruto sighed, the words of Yami echoing in his head. He had to resolve this sexual tension between him and Hinata once and for all.

After a moment of silence, the Genin began to do their own things as the sun set; Shino and Sasuke began to meditate, Chouji whipped out a bag of potato chips, Shikamaru went to sleep, Hinata started to do some scouting up in a tree, and Kiba began to recount his tale of Team 8's encounter with a trio of BSDM Ame-nin (the Ame-nin that Team 7 was supposed to fight, the one's with the oxygen masks and the jumpsuits). He was midway through telling how Hinata had jyuukened the leader into submission, when they heard something. It sounded like a low groan, but picked up, giving off a "Hoooo". It lasted for maybe ten seconds, before ceasing.

"What the hell was that?" asked Sakura, pulling out a kunai.

"Wolves, maybe?" said Kiba, uncertainly. "I think they have wolves here."

"**Hunter,**" said Brain to Naruto, sliding over to him. "It's the Hunter," said Naruto, standing to his feet, and packing up. "It must have found her."

"You can't go out there," said Ino. "It's getting dark, and there will be no way for you to get back if you get lost."

"**Flyer,**" said the Brain to Naruto. Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I think that would be cheating a little... but that seems to be the best option right now."

"What?" asked Kiba, as Naruto swiped blood on his tattoo, and slammed his hands on the ground, loosing a burst of chakra. In a puff of smoke, the Flyer appeared, using its wings to stand upright.

"What the hell is that?" shrieked Ino, scrambling backwards.

"The Flyer Shouhen," said Naruto, as he climbed on its back. He put his hands in the cross seal and muttered "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Four Flyer's with a Naruto on their back appeared, and the Naruto's motioned to the others. "All aboard," he called.

"Wait, you could have done this at anytime?" growled out Sakura.

"Kind of," said Naruto. "But like I said, it would be kind of cheating to fly there."

"We're shinobi, you idiot," growled Sasuke. "We're supposed to do whatever it takes to win."

"Within reason," added Shino. "Though I doubt any of you would like flying."

"Bug-boy's right," said Ino, crossing her arms. "There's no way in hell I'm getting on that thing."

"Would you rather walk the rest of the way?" asked Shikamaru.

Ino fumed, then walked over to the closest Flyer, and climbed on. "If I fall, you're dead," she said to the Naruto clone.

"Aye aye," he said. "Two to a Flyer, please," he called out. Shino and Hinata got on one, Chouji joined Ino behind her, Sasuke and Sakura got on another, and Kiba, Akamaru, and Shikamaru got on the last.

"I don't feel very comfortable," said Shikamaru with Kiba behind him.

"Kiss my ass," growled Kiba. "I'm worse off that you are."

As one, the Flyer's took to the skies, flapping their wings and rising above the trees. There they could see the sun fall below the horizon, and the spire of the tower rose above the greenery. The girls had to admit, it was a lovely sight. The four Flyer clones flew towards the tower, and Naruto and the original flew towards the noise, which the Brain pointed towards.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The Hunter watched as the girl backed up against a tree, cornered by a massive bear the size of an elephant. The girl was wearing a black skirt with a black stockings, shinobi sandals, a netted shirt with a black cloth that covered her breasts, and a tan short-sleeve jacket over that, a Kusagakure hitai-ate on her head, and a pair of brown glasses. She had blood-red hair down to her shoulders (one side unkempt and one side smooth), and red eyes, and was clutching an Earth Scroll. "Oh god, oh god, oh god," she whispered as the bear closed in, drooling and growling at the morsel before it. "Hey, where are you guys!?" she yelled out to her missing teammates. The bear took that moment to roar and charge. The girl screamed and tried to run, but tripped over a tree root. 'I can't believe this!' she thought, shutting her eyes. 'Eaten by a bear! It must have gotten the others, too!'

"Look out below!" came a voice, and a boy dropped from the sky and slammed his feet into the top of the bear's head. The bear let out a groan and dropped to the ground, unconscious. Karin looked up to so the blurred image of a boy in short sleeves and blue pants. 'My glasses,' she thought, and put them on. Her vision clear, she saw a boy with blonde and red hair (making him two-toned), a black short sleeve shirt, blue jumpsuit pants, a blue jacket tied around his waist, a strange tattoo on his left arm, and soft blue eyes. She blushed at the sight of him.

"Are you all right?" he asked, jumping down and landing in front of her.

"Y-yes," she said, standing to her feet. "Th-thank you for your help."

"No problem," said the boy. The Hunter broke cover and one head pushed itself into his hand, and the other head looked at her. "Her?" he asked. The Hunter growled and motioned to her.

"W-What is that!?" the girl asked, backing up.

"My summons, cousin," he said.

That made her pause. "Cousin?" she asked. "How are you my cousin?"

"We are both Uzumaki. My name is Uzumaki Naruto," he said, extending his hand.

The girl started. Her master had told her that his intended prey, Uchiha Sasuke, was on a team that shared Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. She knew that she was an Uzumaki; her mother, back when she were alive, talked about returning to their homeland, and joining with the rest of the clan when the call was given. Unfortunately, she was killed when their village was invaded, but she alone survived, because she could tell where people were through their chakra. And right now, she was feeling calm, relaxed, and entranced by this one's chakra.

"K-Karin," she said, accepting the handshake. "My name is Karin."

Naruto nodded and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you." He motioned to the Hunter. "This is the Hunter. He's part of the way I found you... I was told by my other cousin, Uzumaki Geiruudou, who's a sensor."

She started. "I'm a sensor, too!" she exclaimed. "Where is he?"

"In the village, somewhere," said Naruto. "He and his brother, Gekidou, offer you a place with family. Eventually, we may go to Uzushio, our homeland. But I won't force you to join us... it's your choice."

"C-Can I think about?" she asked.

"Sure," he said. He knelt down and lifted the Hunter's foot, and placed it on his tattoo. Sending a surge of chakra through it, he returned the Hunter back to Uzushio. "Where are your teammates?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I managed to get an Earth Scroll, but I lost them."

"Now we're unlost," came a soft voice. Out of the brush came two people, one tall and stocky, the other short and lithe. The tall one looked like a samurai; it wore chest armor, thigh armor, shoulder armor, shin guards, and gauntlets. Underneath the armor was a dark green kosode and a dark green hakama, with shinobi boots worn on their feet. Instead of a helmet, it wore a dark green headcowl, a Kusagakure hitai-ate, and a mask that covered the mouth. The only revealed parts of the individual were the pale skin and a pair of sea-green eyes.

The short one wore a stylized version of the traditional shinobi wear: A dark blue kosode, a dark blue hakama, knee guards, shoulder guards, chest armor, shinobi boots, gauntlets, shin guards, and a mask that covered the lower part of the face. The individual also wore a happuri (2) that had the Kusagakure sigil on it and three curved blades on each side, a pair of yellow-tinted goggles, and a bandana covering the hair. All-in-all, a great effort to keep them self concealed.

"Looks like we got here just in time," said the tall one. "What is your business here?"

"Just greeting a new person," said Naruto. "And saving them from a bear."

"Congratulations, you've done your good deed for the day," said the short one in a gravelly voice. "Now get lost."

Naruto raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, no need for the hostility." He waved up at Flyer which had been circling overhead this whole time, and it swooped down. Counting to himself, he jumped up, and before their eyes, landed on its back and flew off. "Maybe we'll meet in the tower," he called down. "Remember my offer!" With that, he flew off into the night.

"What was that about?" asked the tall one.

"Maybe a chance to be free," said Karin. She glared at the two. "Where the hell were you two? I almost got eaten by a big fucking bear."

"Looking for a Heaven Scroll," said the short one. "We found one nearby. The dumb bastards who had it were victims of some big-ass spider... they were wrapped in silk and eaten from the inside-out."

Karin shivered. "Okay, that seems legitimate," she said. "What now?"

"We head to the tower at first light," said the tall one. "We rest for the night."

"Away from the bear," added the short one, and the three took off, the moon as their guide.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto came in for a landing, noting that the rest of the Rookies were still outside, and the clones gone. When he landed, the Flyer placed an arm on the tattoo, under the urging of the Brain, and returned the Flyer back to Uzushio. Approaching them, he asked, "What gives? I thought you would have gone in by now."

"And we would have," said Shikamaru. "But we figured, we started this together, we might as well finish together."

Naruto nodded, grinning a little, and motioned them to come along. Taking in a deep breath, the leaders of the three Genin teams (Team 7: Naruto; Team 8: Kiba; Team 10: Ino) entered through the large set of double doors and came face-to-face with… an inscription on the far wall.

Naruto and Kiba broke the silence. "What the hell is this!?" they both yelled.

"It looks like an inscription," said Sakura, crossing her arms.

"B-but it looks like w-words are m-missing," said Hinata.

"To fill in the words…" muttered Shikamaru, looking at his scroll. "Guys, I think we have to open the scrolls."

After some thought, the rest came to the same conclusion. As one, the leaders and the second-in-commands (Team 7: Sasuke; Team 8: Hinata; Team 10: Shikamaru) opened the scrolls. The scrolls had a single kanji in the center… "Jin" (Person). As they muttered on what that meant, the kanji began to smoke.

"Drop them!" exclaimed Sasuke, who recognized the ornate symbols around the kanji. "It's a Summoning Technique! Throw 'em!"

Like lightning, the Genin holding the scrolls threw them away, and as the scrolls landed nest to each other, there was an explosion of smoke. As a figure in the smoke appeared, the Genin went on the defensive, wondering what this new devilry could be. The smoke cleared, to reveal…

"Yo!" said Iruka, grinning broadly. "Long time, no see." Taking advantage of the Rookie Nine's amazement, Iruka drawled out, "You guys look like you've been through hell."

"What the hell are you doing here!?" yelled Kiba. "Why were you summoned?"

Iruka chuckled and said, "At the end of the Second Exam, it's set up so that we Chuunin can meet of with the exam takers. It's just sheer luck that I was assigned to meet you guys." Checking a pocket watch he had, he added, "And you've three whole days left. All nine of you pass… congrats."

"What was the point of the scrolls, then?" asked Ino. "If we had opened them then, then…?"

"He probably would have knocked out whoever opened them," said Sasuke, falling on one knee.

"Correct," said Iruka, picking up the scrolls. "The way this test was set up was to test your abilities to follow the rules. So anyone that opened the scrolls before reaching the tower were knocked unconscious and forced to exit the Exam."

"Ano, sensei," said Hinata, pointing to the writing on the wall. "What does that mean?"

"That is the motto of the Chuunin, written by Hokage-sama himself," said Iruka. "Basically, to become a Chuunin requires wisdom and strength. If you have both, then you can succeed in the most dangerous of situations. Finally, the kanji 'Jin' for the scrolls… it goes with the phrase 'These will guide a person's extremes'."

"So," said Shikamaru, bowing his head and crossing his arms, "The five days we were assigned were testing our basic abilities?"

Iruka nodded. "Correct, and all of you pass. Chuunin have the rank of Military Commander; and mind, body, and inner wisdom are needed for your duties. I want you guys to challenge the rest of the Exam with this motto in mind."

Seeing the Genin in deep thought, he chuckled light-heartedly. "Don't push yourselves. This may be all that I have to pass on, but try your best, and give it your all without pushing yourselves to the brink of destruction." With that he gave the Rookies, his former students, a big thumbs-up.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Well," said Sakura, reclining on a couch with the other Rookies. "We've got three days to kill… what do you want to do?"

"I'm going to go to sleep," said Shikamaru.

"I'm going to go see if there are any strong opponents here," said Sasuke as he stood up and walked away.

"Me and my _partner _Akamaru," said Kiba, glaring at Naruto as he said _partner_, "are gonna go scout for opponents, so we'll know who to be wary of, like that raccoon-eyed Suna-nin…"

"I'm going wandering," said Naruto, and he secured his scroll onto his back, and his bag with the Brain, then walked out the door and into the hall.

Naruto soon found himself watching the first quarter moon. He sighed, his thoughts turning to the day's events. The Oto-nin, meeting the Kyuubi and his dark side... sadly, the words of his doppelganger came back. "Well," he muttered. "I suppose I should put that to rest right now..."

"P-Put what to r-rest?" came a voice.

Naruto winced. It was just the person he was looking for, but how could he talk to her, to resolve things without coming off like a total jackass. He motioned her over. "Can we talk?" he asked.

"S-Sure," said Hinata, and she joined him in looking at the moon. "W-What's wrong?"

Naruto sighed. This was hard. "Why... why do you like me?"

The question caught her off guard, and she gaped for a moment. Then she turned red, and looked away. "B-Because you never give up," she said. "You t-train d-day in, d-day out, w-without little r-rest. Y-you also n-never l-let what others c-call you g-get you d-down."

'If only she knew,' he thought bitterly. "That can't be all," he said.

"Y-you're also b-brave, and e-even though the odds m-might be against y-you, you n-never quit."

"When did this start?" he asked.

"Y-years ago," she said, looking back at him. "I was in the p-park, and some b-boys thought th-that just b-because I was a Hyuuga, th-that I thought I w-was better than them. I didn't even know them." She sighed. "My guard, Kou-san was gone, and they were about to b-beat me up, when y-you appeared. Y-you refused to let th-them insult and d-degrade me." She leaned into him, and he hugged her, unsure of anything else. They b-beat you s-so bad. S-Since it was m-my fault th-that that happened to y-you, I st-stayed and w-watched over y-you, until K-Kou-san t-took me away. H-he told me to st-stay away from you, b-but I couldn't."

"I don't even remember that," said Naruto. "Then again, I think I had a concussion from that incident. I wish I could remember. I'm sorry, but that sounds like hero worship."

"It's not!" she squeaked. "You g-gave me strength, b-but for some, it wasn't e-enough."

"Now it sounds like a crutch," he muttered. Feeling Hinata stiffening below, he looked down to see tears in her eyes. "Why?" she whispered. "Why can't you accept my love?"

"Because I'm... more and less human... I'm fallible, I'm flawed, and I'm unworthy," he said. "Besides my clan, there's things you don't know about me... things that would make you hate me, like the rest of the village. You are the purest person in this whole blasted place, and I'll be damned before I ruin you."

"I-If it is about th-the Kyuubi, I've known f-for years," she said tearily. "A-And I d-don't care."

His eyes wide, he asked. "How?"

"K-Kou-san mentioned it in passing," she said. "I-I asked him about it, and h-he said that I d-didn't need to worry about it. Th-The elders also told m-me to stay away from y-you, and b-before the Academy f-finished, I put it together."

Naruto exhaled, slowly. "Well, now you know my secret. The secret that is punishable by death. The secret I didn't even know about until Mizuki-teme blabbed it to me. I told myself I would never use his power, and I aim to keep it like that." He did not mention how the Kyuubi more-or-less forced him to use its power in the forest.

They were quiet, save for Hinata's soft sniffles. Naruto felt like an absolute heel for making her cry. "Gomen nasai," he said. "While we were in the forest, I talked to the Kyuubi. He hates everything... me, most of all. He showed me my darker half, Yami Naruto, born of the negativity in my life. Yami hates everything, too. It was his thoughts that put me on this line of questioning, and I feel awful for doing it." He let her go and took her by the shoulders. "I vaguely remember feeling soft hands while I was nearly passed out from training, and I remember someone keeping me upright so I wouldn't suffocate, and I want to believe that that was you... and if so, thank you."

"I-It was the l-least I could do," she said, blushing a little through her tears. "E-Everyone w-was against you, s-so I w-wanted you to know that a-at l-least s-someone c-cared. B-but I w-was t-too m-much of a c-coward to c-come forward."

"Actually," he said. "You were braver than anyone I know, beside Teuchi-ji-san and Ayame-nee-chan." He smiled a little. "I'll tell you what... You start at one end, I start at the other, and we try to meet in the middle."

Hinata smiled. It was a start, hopefully from a platonic relationship to a romantic one. "I-I would l-like that."

Naruto smiled widely. That went better than he thought. At length, he escorted her back to her room, and kissed her hand as she left, making her blush. Feeling a lot better, he walked down the hall to his room, and climbed into bed. The Brain, which had been quiet the whole time, asked "**Future mate?**"

"Maybe, little buddy," he said. "Maybe." Soon he was asleep.

The Brain watched him sleep, then prodded him to ensure that he was asleep. At the lack of response, except the soft snoring, he gently clawed Naruto's arm until blood was drawn, and touched the tattoo. Sending chakra through the tattoo, he brought forth Fire, the Breeder, and Flyer in a soft puff of smoke. As they came into being, their bodies shifter to accommodate the necessary changes; Fire grew wings and tentacles behind the front legs, Breeder grew a hunchback and wings, and Flyer grew a hunchback and tentacles behind its front legs. The Brain pushed an image of the bear into their minds, and the three Shouhen took off, quietly opening the window and flying into the night.

They arrived at the still unconscious body of the bear, which was slowly being approached by three tigers the size of rhinos. Fire swooped in a sent blasts of flame at them, making the tigers roar in rage at the loss of a potential meal. Another blast made the tigers retreat. Fire snorted, then swooped around the bear as Breeder and Flyer circled over the bear. Fire landed and snorted a burst of flame at a spot on the bears side, burning away the fur. Unfortunately, this caused the bear to stir.

Breeder took the chance to land on the bear, and plunge her ovipositor into the revealed flesh of the bear, depositing the embryo into its amniotic sack. This cause the bear to wake, and it stood shakily, groaning. Fire swooped in to heat the area, but the bear turned and growled, causing Fire and Breeder to fly up and away from the angry bear.

The three Shouhen watched the bear lumber off, and Breeder dropped to the ground to follow it. Fire and Flyer flew away back to the tower, and as the distance increase, Breeder's wings shrunk back into its body, causing the Shouhen to hiss in pain.

Back at the tower, Fire and Flyer arrived at the window, and dropped their heads as the Brain looked at them. They slunk over to Naruto, and lifted limbs to Naruto's tattoo. The Brain put its chakra through the tattoo, returning them back to Uzushio. The Brain hissed angrily; Breeder was the most valuable of the Shouhen, and she needed to be protected and watched over, for she was their only means of reproduction. Plus, he had no idea if the Summoner would ever summon her, and if he did, and she failed to appear...

The Brain stopped thinking about that. Tomorrow it would send the Hunter, Fire, and the Flyer to find her. Things could still work out.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over the next two days, the two Genin got to know each other better; Naruto found out that Hinata was to cinnamon buns like he was to ramen, and Hinata found out that Naruto had a passion for gardening, and kept a small garden near his apartment. He also found out her families response to his conclusion on how easy it was to steal the Byakugan.

"They blew you off!?" he asked, shocked.

"N-Not really," she said. "I t-told them w-what you told me, and th-they said th-that they would t-take it under advisement. Wh-when I informed them of H-Hyouma-san's fate, they w-were less than p-pleased. I t-told them that that proved that the S-Seal was useless, but th-they said that it p-proved that they needed st-stronger Seal." She sighed sadly. "I fear that in m-my attempt to s-save my family from itself, I might have m-made it worse."

"You should tell them to contract cousin Geiruudou," he said. "He's really good with seals."

"I-I will try," she said. "I j-just hope th-that they listen..."

The two began spending time together, much to the chagrin of Kiba. Everyone else, save Shino, gave him pats on the back, and said "It's about time." That made him frown, given that that meant that just about everyone in the Academy had known that Hinata was crushing on him, and he was too dense to see it. Even the Brain mocked him about it after first seeing her.

The day before the final day, Team Gai and Team Oto arrived, though not together. Team Gai arrived in the morning, while Team Oto arrived in the evening, as the sun was setting. There was not much to be said; both teams went off to their own rooms, and stayed away from the others.

Naruto found himself reading through his mother's book out of sheer boredom. He was currently on the entry for the Kisaragi Clan.

_The Kisaragi Clan were founded in a distant land by their head, Saemon. The Kisaragi Clan possess a unique ability of adaptable shapeshifting; should the situation call for it, they will temporary shift into the proper adaptation. They were invited to join Uzushio by the Nidaime Uzushio Daishogun, Uzumaki Korin. They are kin to a clan that dwelled in Kiba no Kuni who possess nearly the same abilities, but are unbalanced by them, though it is through no fault of their own. This clan was able to absorb natural energy unconsciously, and shapeshift parts of their bodies at will, at the price of a periodic loss of sanity._

_The Kisaragi fought with their allies during the Fall of Uzushio, and disappeared soon afterwards. No one has seen them since, and no one knows where they are._

Naruto heard a noise and set his book down before looked out the doorway. He saw the image of a person disappearing around the corner, and cautiously left his room. "I'll be back," he said to the questioning Brain, and soon found himself walking down an empty corridor. As he kept walking, he found light streaming through a doorway. Looking out of it, he saw the shapely figure of one Tsuchi Kin, looking over the balcony at the forest below.

Kin was absorbed in her own thoughts, when she heard someone behind her say, "Kon." She spun around and drew a kunai, but relaxed when she saw Naruto, his hands raised in defense. "Don't do that," she said, putting the kunai away.

"Gomen," said Naruto, as he stood beside her. "I'm Naruto, what's on your mind?"

"I'm Kin, and it's nothing that concerns you," said Kin, her eyes on the forest. Naruto said something, which made her turn to him. "What was that?"

"Lovely view, I said," said the blonde to the brunette. Smiling warmly, he urged her, "Talk to me… I may be of some help."

Kin didn't know why, but she felt at ease with this Konoha-nin around. She was sure that it might have been due to the fact that she always was on guard around her teammates, but she shrugged it off because when she was with her teammates, there was always the threat of… that, with them being so rowdy. "I don't think you can help me," she said, shaking her head.

When Naruto motioned for her to continue, Kin shook her head. "You're a strange one, you know that?"

"Yeah," said Naruto jokingly as he rubbed his head. "But I'm also a good listener."

Kin sighed. Since he wasn't leaving, she thought that it would be okay for him to listen. "I'm probably going to die after this exam," she said.

"W-What!?" exclaimed Naruto, startled. "Why!?"

Kin laughed bitterly. "I'm pretty much useless to my team and my master. You see, my master wanted the ultimate shinobi, so he kidnapped some thirty baby orphans and injected them with genes from two clans… the Kaguya from Kirigakure and the Uchiha from Konoha."

Naruto lowered his eyes, catching her drift. "And you were one of them…"

Kin nodded, smiling grimly. "Yes, I was… and I was the only one to survive the process, too. My master was pleased with that, but he grew weary when the years went by and I showed no change, no sign that I inherited the two Kekkei Genkai. Soon, he abandoned me altogether, and I became a Genin of Otogakure, existing for the sole purpose of serving my master."

Naruto stood there thinking. "Kin," he said slowly, his eyes growing slits. "By any chance, would your master be Orochimaru?"

Kin glanced at him, startled. "How…?"

"Your teammate Dosu," said Naruto, glaring into the forest. "But that makes no sense. How would he have gotten Uchiha blood?"

"The Kyuubi attack," said Kin. When Naruto cast shocked eyes at her, she scoffed. "You didn't think no one else would hear about it, did you? Orochimaru would go on about how he would finish the Kyuubi's job and destroy Konoha."

"Anyway, there you have it. I'm a failed experiment, only useful for Genjutsu and cannon fodder. Orochimaru is sure that even as a carrier of the Uchiha and Kaguya bloodlines, there's a chance I won't pass them on, with them being artificial…" Kin was cut off by a hug from Naruto. "What…?"

"I may not have known you, but I can tell you that you're not useless," he said, growling at the thought of the Hebi-Sennin. "Anyone who can use sound as a weapon is dangerous enough, so I can tell you that you are not useless."

Kin, who had grown comfortable in Naruto's arms, reddened slightly. "You're just saying that to be nice."

"No, I'm not," said Naruto, looking her in the eye. "I mean it… everyone has some skills to them, like my teammate Sakura being an expert with Chakra Control and intelligent as well, and Hinata-chan with her Jyuuken."

'Jyuuken? She must be a Hyuuga, and maybe his lover, given how he talked...' thought Kin, as she tried to push against Naruto to free herself. As far as she thought, he was getting too touchy-feely right now, but he _was_ a good listener. She stiffened as she felt his chest muscles. 'Calm down, Kin,' she thought in her head. 'He's a Konoha-nin, the enemy. Although…'

Naruto looked down when Kin tried to free herself, and let her go. "Sorry, didn't mean to keep you," he said. "But, I will make sure that Orochimaru pays for his crimes," he said with conviction. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but he will pay. And I'll make sure that you don't die either, Kin-chan."

Kin felt her heart race when Naruto called her "Kin-chan". 'Why do I feel like this?' she thought, blushing. 'We just met, and yet, he wants to protect me… like those two kunoichi Zaku wanted? What have you done to me, Uzumaki Naruto?'

Naruto waved good night, then walked back to his room, leaving a confused Kin. He rounded a corner to see Kiba walking up. The Inuzuka male glowered at the Uzumaki and approached him. "Yes?" asked Naruto, on guard.

"Stay away from Hinata-chan," said Kiba.

"Why do you care?" asked Naruto. "She's a kunoichi, she's free to do what she wants. Besides, we're just getting to know each other. I don't even know if we'd end up together."

"She can do better than you," replied Kiba. "I might have been a dead-last too, but I still have more to offer her... the prestige of the Inuzuka. What do you have? A clan we can't even mention to others under penalty of imprisonment, and a single apartment? I can offer her anything she wants."

Naruto frowned. "I'm not doing this," he said. "This sounds just like what happened with Juujin Sarai. And for your information, I don't care what you think or what you have. It doesn't mean a damn thing except what's in here." He poked Kiba's in the chest, causing the Inuzuka to grunt.

"Where'd you get that, some trashy romance novel?" asked Kiba snidely.

"From Kurenai-sensei, actually," said Naruto. "She was talking to one of her friends about dating, and I was nearby when she said it."

Kiba did a fairly good impression of a fish, and Naruto took that opportunity to duck away and into his room. "We aren't done yet, Naruto!" Kiba shouted after him.

Naruto closed his door, and panted. That was far too close for his liking. "What's he so bent up about?" he asked himself. "There's plenty of girls in the village. Why's he so bent up who Hinata wants?"

"**Threatened,**" suggested the Brain. "**Other male want mate.**"

Naruto frowned, annoyed at that statement. The Brain probably knew what he was talking about, given that he and the rest of the Shouhen were more attuned to animalistic tendencies, and he was just figuring out his. Still, jealousy amongst comrades only led to ruin. Besides, in his mind, all that matter was what both parties, the woman especially, wanted out of the whole thing. Based off of the time that he and Hinata had spent together, he could tell that Hinata wanted him, but was willing to have a true relationship built on knowledge and experience, not one based off of lust and desire. Well, maybe a little.

xxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Team Kusa made it to the tower, and Karin set out to find Naruto. She searched through hallways, trying to sense his chakra. Walking past an opening that surveyed a balcony, she started as she saw two dark shapes fall down in front of the moon. She ran to see what they were, but they were gone. 'Was that something or someone?' she thought. 'Or am I seeing things...?' Suddenly, she felt a hand grabbed her shoulder. She spun around, pulling out a kunai, to see...

"Kabuto?"

Yakushi Kabuto, his face bearing the stretched skin of a healing scar, frowned. "Why so tense, Karin-chan? You're not up to something, are you?"

"No," she frowned, jerking away from him. "What happened to you, anyway?"

Kabuto frowned. "I ran into something new in the forest. Something strange that got my teammates. It tried to burn me, but I got away." He narrowed his gaze at her. "Remember what you're supposed to do."

"I know," she said exasperatedly. "Watch the Uchiha and ascertain his abilities." She sighed. "What if he's weak? What if he falls to the Curse Seal?"

"The orders are to drug and kidnap him, then," said Kabuto, walking away. "Remember, Orochimaru-sama will not tolerate failure."

"I know," she said, shivering. The last person who failed Orochimaru was fed to his snakes, and those snakes tore him to pieces, not letting him die until he was nothing but a red skeleton. As she watched Kabuto leave, she sighed. Naruto's offer was getting more and more tempting. But Orochimaru saved her from a possibly hard life, and all he had done to her thus far was taken blood samples. "Do I stay with Orochimaru-sama, or join with family?" she asked.

Unknown to her, she was being observed. Her large teammate crouched on the underside of the balcony, accompanied by a short figure in traditional shinobi wear, plus a mask that covered the lower portion of their face. A symbol was on this person's back; a green spiral in a symbol that looked like two sixes and two nines joined together (a storm symbol). The only exposed features were a pair of dark eyes with flecks of blue, olive green hair, and tanned skin. "She is at a crossroads," said the tall one. "Is it the devil she knows, or into the dark of the unknown?"

"She must not be allowed to remain with the Snake Man," said the masked nin. "Neither should she join with the two Uzumaki in the village. Her abilities could be useful to us?"

"Is that your father talking, or your mother?" asked the tall one with mirth.

"You just concentrate on your end, Burei," said the masked nin. "Observe the two Uzumaki in these Exams, and report to your 'sensei'."

"Understood," said Burei, the now known tall nin, and crawled on the side of the tower, entering through another balcony. The other seemingly melded into the shadows, and appeared on the opposite side of the tower, jumped off of the tower, diving headfirst, and disappeared into the foliage. He flipped, and grabbed a tree limb on the way down, and landed on his feet. He took off running, aiming to escape the Forest of Death and report to his superiors. He was caught by surprise as a bear lumbered out of the foliage and roared. He leaped to the side and threw a horde of shuriken at the bear's face, and it turned to the side. It began baying in pain, and dropped to its side, howling in an unholy fashion. He paused and observed from a distance. A lump appeared on the side of the bear, and the animal howled in pain. The watcher stared in morbid curiosity as a five-clawed foot tore its way out of the bear, and the animal let out a last piteous howl, and fell silent and still.

The creature within pulled itself out, and landed on the ground, gasping and chittering as it took in breath. It was in the shape of the bear it devoured and tore itself free from, with four limbs ending in five-clawed feet, a short tail, and a head looking like a bear skull, with small yellow eyes placed in a position where it could look in front and to each side, and nostrils at the end of the snout. It was the size of a regular bear, red with its host's blood, and had small teeth that wear visible as it breathed. A row of quills trailed from its neck to its tail, and it lay on the ground, seemingly catching its breath.

"What manner of abomination are you?" muttered the shinobi to himself, only to let out a gasp as he felt a stab of pain. Turning his head, he saw some spider-thing with tentacles hanging from a tree limb by its forelegs and fore-tentacles, and it reared back and jabbed him again in the back. He swiped with a kunai, and the thing screeched and disappeared into the treetops. He jumped and followed it up, confused as he stuck his head above the treetop to see open air. He looked around, the moon providing him light, and saw nothing.

He was sideswiped by something, and he saw it. It had wings and two heads, and chittered at him. He growled, and tossed a kunai at it, then crossed his fingers. The kunai turned into twenty, and flew towards the flying double-header, which tucked in its wings and dropped. He heard a hiss from behind, and turned to see something land on the treetops and shoot a fireball at him. He dropped to the ground, and landed on the corpse of the bear, pushing its organs out onto the ground. He noted that the thing that came out of the bear started tugging at the meat, pulling it and devouring it, and lumbered away.

He was distracted by a pain in his back, and felt something twinge. His moment of distraction led to something landed on his back - the fire-breather - which sent a blast of flame on his back. He fell to the ground in agony, and realized to late that the thing that had stung him had laid something in there. He knew his time was short, and flashed through hand seals. Before he could finish, the double-headed things appeared in front of him and latched both of its jaws on his hands, crushing them. He let out a howl of pain as he felt something - two somethings, actually - tearing away at his insides. He fell to his knees, and watched in pain and horror as two lumps appeared on his outfit near his stomach. He knew he was going to die, so he closed his eyes and sent chakra to his chest, activating the seals on it. He chuckled as the two lumps squirmed about, somehow understanding that they were in danger. "Come with me to hell," me muttered, as he slowly counted down from ten. When he reached four, the two lumps tore themselves out of his body, revealing their bloody forms to the outside world, shrieking like newborns.

He watched as the two-headed creature that still held his hands grabbed the two creatures he had given crimson breech birth to in their jaws, and flew away, joined by the creature on his back. He howled in rage as he felt his pulse slowing, before the countdown reached zero. He exploded, leaving nothing behind but a crater and flaming debris.

Above, the Shouhen watched as the other newborn Shouhen reappeared, the bear-borne Shouhen. It let out a grunting growl, and reared onto its hind legs, exactly like a bear, watching the flying Shouhen. Flyer swooped down and hovered in front of it. No change, but that was to be expected. Only when they reach maturity did they gain their shapeshifting. Flyer hissed, and Hunter flew down and joined it. The newborn dropped to all four legs and sniffed Hunter. As the others flew away, Hunter motioned for it to follow, and took off, followed by the newborn which galloped like a bear.

The four Shouhen adults, plus the three newborns, were soon outside the tower, but still within the tree line. Hunter flapped its wings and grabbed the front end of the newborn, while Breeder grabbed the other end. Flapping hard, the two were able to lift the large Shouhen newborn up, and frantically pumped their wings to keep it airborne.

They heard a hissing, and they saw the Brain waving its little arms in greeting from a window. They flew towards it, and soon, all seven Shouhen, not counting the Brain, were in Naruto's room. The Brain appeared, sniffing the Shouhen, causing the newborn to growl in irritation. Naruto, who was asleep, shifted, and the Shouhen all stiffened. Once they were sure he was still asleep. The Brain approached and motioned Breeder, Fire, and Flyer to approach. Breeder, with the bloody newborns on her back, approached and laid a claw on Naruto's tattoo. Fire did the same, as did Flyer. The Brain placed its own claw on the tattoo and sent chakra through it, sending the five Shouhen back in a puff of smoke. It motioned for the remaining two, Hunter and the newborn, only to discover that the newborn was sniffing Naruto's face. The Brain tensed, and hissed lowly. The newborn looked at him, and then returned to sniffing. Hunter growled, and nudged the newborn, who turned to it and groaned. Hunter pressed one snout into the tattoo, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Brain motioned for the newborn to approach, which did so cautiously. It motioned to the tattoo, and the newborn pressed its snout to the tattoo, sniffing it. The Brain sent its chakra through the tattoo and sent the newborn to their region on Uzushio. Exhausted, the Brain collapsed and fell asleep, curled up next to its summoner and slept. Little did they realize that their excursion outside the tower hadn't gone unnoticed.

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Elsewhere, within a compound in the middle of a forest, a girl looked up at a burning sensation. She had red eyes, white hair done into an afro, pale skin, and wore a black trenchcoat over a black leather crop tank top that molded to her lithe B-cup frame, short black shorts, and black boots that went up to her shins. She had a tattoo on her belly button of a green spiral inside the storm symbol, and a frown marred her petite face. She pulled up her left trenchcoat sleeve to reveal nine marks on it; nine green spirals inside of the storm symbol, with each spiral having a red name next to it. The fourth spiral, which had "Aimai" next to it, faded from its red and green into black. A vulgar curse slipped from her lips, drawing the attention of her companion.

"What's wrong?" he asked is a gruff voice. He was tall, with tanned skin, gray eyes, and spiky white hair. He wore a black trenchcoat that was closed, black boot, black gloves, and had the same symbol that she wore on his right trenchcoat sleeve. His companion ignored him and marched down the hallway to a large room. Her quarry was seen exiting another room, and turned to face her. It was a woman, clad in a blue kimono and wearing heeled sandals. She had red hair cut level with her chin with two locks in front of her ears, and a long ponytail that went down to the small of her back. She wore red lipstick, had pale skin, and had mischievous red eyes that hid her intentions. She raised a delicate eyebrow at the approaching two. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong!?" snarled the girl. "I'll tell you what's wrong! Aimai is dead!"

The woman and the man frowned. "That is... unfortunate," said the man.

"Unfortunate!?" she shrieked. "Is that all you have to say, Yaburino-kun!? His mother is..."

"Less than pleased, but intrigued," said the woman.

"Oboro-sama?" asked the girl. "I don't understand."

"One of my children is dead, but I am not angry," said the now known Oboro. "Kata-san is correct, it is unfortunate, but this gives me the perfect excuse to venture back to Konoha. Contact our agentsm Kat-chan... let them know we will arrive for the Chuunin Exams."

The now known Kat frowned, then a smile shot across her face. "Aye aye, Oboro-sama!" she said, and then took off running.

"You're taking this rather well," said Kata Yaburino. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," said Oboro, a small smile on her face. "Just thinking of a pet project of mine."

"Yabu-kuuun..." came a girly voice from down the hall. "I need comforrrrt..."

Yaburino groaned at the call of the wild Kat. Oboro chuckled, her hand over her mouth. "Try to keep the noise down, will you?" she asked.

"Tell Kat that," muttered Yaburino as he walked down the hall, dreading at the thought of the future "comfort" he was to bestow. Oboro watched him go, then mused to herself "I wonder how you are... my little Jinchuuriki..."

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_Later..._

As the Second Exam came to a close, and the seven teams met in the Preliminary Arena, with the Hokage, the Jounin Sensei's, and the Exam Proctors.

'78 people started out, and in the end, only 21 passed,' thought Anko as she surveyed the teams. 'When I was thinking of more than half of them failing, I was really thinking of a single digit number.'

At this point, many of the teams began having their own thoughts…

Team Kusa

The Jounin-sensei of the Kusa-nin was a voluptuous woman who drew the eye of many of the assembled shinobi, though she did not care much for them. She had two purple stripes on her left cheek, a red-violet bodysuit that revealed much of her chest and figure, a red-violet dress that went down to her knees, red-violet boots, red-violet gloves under red-violet arm-warmers that flared near the bottom and started on her upper arms, and long brown hair curled into a very intricate spiral. She wore her Kusagakure hitai-ate like a belt, had a brown bull-whip coiled on her left hip, and her cool hazel eyes surveyed her team, and she gave small nod to them.

'I can feel Orochimaru-sama in here somewhere... what can I do? The offer of family is tempting... but he'll kill me if I leave...'

'...'

"... Ni-sensei is so hot," muttered Burei.

Team 10:

"I'm hungry."

"Man, I hope I don't have to fight Naruto, Sasuke, or those Oto-nin…"

'Sasuke-kun! Watch me beat the competition!'

Team Gai:

At this point, Gai was telling Kakashi about how his team made it through luck, but luck wouldn't be enough to pass. When Kakashi responded with a, "Hmm, you say something, Gai?", Gai resolved to beat Kakashi another way, despite Kakashi's "damn cool, hip attitude!"

'So that's Gai-sensei's rival? He's got Gai-sensei beat in looks, but…'

'Gai-sensei is the coolest among the teachers! He shines like the sun!' "Watch me, Gai-sensei! Watch me shine, too!"

'The ones who stand out are the ones who were left, just like I thought. Uchiha Sasuke… Uzumaki Naruto…'

Team Oto:

'…'

'Uzumaki Naruto, I will kill you, then steal your girls and keep them. This I swear on my poor arms.'

'Naruto-kun…'

The Jounin-sensei of the Oto-nin grinned evilly and gazed at his time with his darkened cat-like eyes.

Team Suna:

The Jounin-sensei of the team from Suna, Baki, glanced down at his team and thought, 'So you made it through without a scratch, Gaara…'

The only other person with any thoughts was Temari: 'Amazing. Of the twenty-six teams that went in, only seven made it here…'

Team 8:

Kurenai was confused to see Akamaru, hiding in Kiba's jacket, as opposed to on Kiba's head, where he normally would be. 'Akamaru's acting strange,' thought she.

'Those Suna-nin… must avoid… Naruto-baka… I will earn Hinata-chan's heart… She'll see that I'm better for her than you...'

'Naruto-kun… please be careful...'

Team 7:

Looking around, Sakura said, "It looks like everyone together once again."

"Looks like everyone important is here," replied Naruto, sneaking a glance to his right. 'Hinata-chan holding up alright… but Kibble looks like he's got to take a major dump...'

Sasuke clutched his neck, and growled, "I don't have a good feeling about this though."

Back to the main view…

Sandaime surveyed the genin below him. 'Such promising candidates, and many of them are new.' Casting a sidelong glance at Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi, he added on a mental note, 'No wonder they were recommended.'

Anko stepped forward and spoke. "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam by Hokage-sama."

Sandaime stood before the seven Genin teams. Clearing his throat, he began the speech he had been going over in his head.

"The Third Exam will now begin. But before the explanation, I want to make something clear to all of you. It is of this Exam's true purpose."

At the questioning looks he got, he continued. "Many of you ask, 'Why do we have a joint exam with our allied nations?' The textbook answers are, 'To maintain good relations the allied nations,' and 'To heighten the level of Shinobi'. But these are not the true answers."

"Rather, this exam is the true meaning of war between allies."

"What do you mean?" asked Tenten.

Sandaime answered, "If you look back at history, we and our neighbors fought each other repeatedly. To avoid wasting manpower and talent, each nation decided that instead of the actual battlefield…"

"… The battles would be fought through tests. And thus, the beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

After Naruto threw out the question that was on everyone's minds, of whether or not the fighting was not for selection, Sandaime began again. "This exam examines those worthy of the title Chuunin. But in addition, this exam also forces the shinobi in it to fight for the honor and dignity of their village and country."

Afterward, he explained how spectators of the Third Exam often included Daimyo's who would inspect those who had shinobi in battle. This was a way for the shinobi to obtain potential clients. And in addition to the Daimyo's, the Kage of a Hidden Village would also observe the fights, to see the strength in each village. And the strongest village would be the one that would get the most missions.

Finally, the Chuunin Exams were also ways for the different villages to show their military might, as a warning to their neighbors. And when Kiba asked, "Then why do we have to fight with our lives on the line?", Sandaime simply answered, "The power of the village in reflected in the power of the country."

"To elaborate, the power of the village is based on the power of the shinobi. And only in a life-or-death situation can the true power of a shinobi be unleashed. Since you fought in such a situation, you follow the dream of those before you. And those before you have dreamed of and fought in the Chuunin Exams because of said situation."

"It is the custom in this world to show one's life and fighting to maintain a balance... the balance that must exist anywhere. This is the true meaning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

After the tense silence, Gaara was the first to speak. "What of these life-and-death battles?" he asked, bloodlust evident in his eyes.

As the Hokage was about to answer, a bandana-wearing Jounin phased into view and bowed before the Hokage. "Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama… I, Gekkou Hayate, will explain the Third Exam."

After getting acknowledgement from the Third, Hayate turned to reveal bags under his eyes and a slight, sickly cough. "Nice to meet you, everyone. But before we begin, I need you to do something for me…"

After a small fit of coughing, Hayate said, "I need you to fight one another, to see who will advance into the main part of the Third Exam."

"What do you mean?" asked Shikamaru, clearly confused.

"It's just a few Preliminary Matches. We still have far too many examinees to just move on to the Main Event. Therefore, the rules state that some of the examinees have to be eliminated from the competition."

"Seeing as how we're pressed for time," said Hayate, taking a clipboard into his hands, "if anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, they may, with my consent. Because the Prelims begin immediately."

There were cries of "Nani!?" , "We just got here!" , and one "Mendokuse…"

"You'll be doing one-on-one matches from this point on, so if you want to withdraw, please do so now."

'I'm not withdrawing,' thought Sasuke, before he grasped his neck. That damnedable snake bastard Orochimaru was gonna be in for a world of hurt once he found him. Then he'd pay for that mark on his neck… He noticed that Sakura was about to raise her hand, probably to request a withdrawal, so he grabbed said hand, and told her not to do it. "It is my duty to answer the question, 'Am I strong?'. And as far as I know…" he paused, thinking back to everyone he saw. 'Sabaku no Gaara… Hyuuga Neji… Rock Lee… Kinuta Dosu…' "…I must answer that question, if I am in order to defeat That Man." He sent a glare at Sakura, saying, "And I'm not going to let anyone take that away from me… not even you, Sakura."

"She worried about you, nimrod," hissed Naruto. His next words were interrupted as Sasuke said "Naruto… you're one of the people I want to fight…", effectively shutting up his feral teammate who had started to tell him to stop being a prick.

Hayate coughed and said, "I assume no others are going to drop out?" When he didn't receive an answer, he looked to Sandaime.

Seeing Sasuke grimace in pain, Sandaime inhaled from his pipe, and said, "Orochimaru being here worries me, but for know, let's just observe Sasuke."

Anko was indignant. "Ho-Hokage-sama!"

"If the Curse Seal begins to run rampant, then we'll quarantine him with the ANBU. But for now, let him be."

Ibiki nodded his assent, and so did Anko, begrudgingly.

"Well then," said Hayate, "Let's start the Preliminaries then. It'll be similar to actual combat, with one-on-one matches. And now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches. Subsequently, the winners of each match will move on to the Third Exam Finals."

"There are no rules. You will fight until your opponent is knocked out, dies, or admits defeat. If you do not wish to die, then forfeit. However, if I judge that the match is over…" Here, he coughed. "… then I will step in to prevent any unnecessary deaths."

"The thing that will foretell your destiny…" Hayate said, as Anko spoke into her headset, "is that board." Here a wall lifted to reveal a black board. "The electronic bulletin board will randomly show the names of two fighters of each match. I should note that due to the number of competitors, someone may get a pass to the finals, unless they wish to fight."

He said that just to be fair, since no one would probably want to fight twice.

"And so, without further ado," intoned Hayate, "I give you the first match-up."

The board flashed, then shuffled through names, before stopping at two.

_Kankurou vs. Uchiha Sasuke_

Sasuke grinned and said, "Right off the bat, eh?"

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(1) Zankuukyokuha = Extreme Decapitating Air Wave

(2) Happuri = a type of mempo; facial armor worn by samurai and their retainers in feudal Japan. Happuri covered the forehead and cheeks.

Sorry guys, as much as I wanted to move into the prelims, this was getting to be too much; over 18,400 words at 43 pages, and I had to say enough. Well, it looks like we have an mystery organization vested in Konoha, and I wonder what they're up to...

Next chapter we have the Prelims, so try and guess to see who's going to get the pass to the finals. Keep them reviews coming, and stay cool! Trying to breach the 45-50 mark this time, so as always, read and critique.


	6. The Path to Power Part III

Liking how the reviews are turning out, and I thank everyone for their support. Now we get down to the Genin matches. Now time to answer some reviews:

**Leaf Ranger**; Unfortunately, there are certain fights that must remain the same, and that is one of them, because within it lies to the key to helping Naruto with his doujutsu.

**ncpfan**; Thanks, and kudos on being the only one so far to pick that up. Though to be fair, that was a rather obscure reference, and when I was using them, I used the name as a reference to compare the two races; both from an island nation that was destroyed in a cataclysm, and both have notorious lifespans. Still, that sounds like an interesting idea, but I won't go that far off the mark.

**Nightshadegirl**; some finalists have to stay the same like in canon, but they have been switched around.

**MariSkep**; I had that same issue with the Hyuuga back when I first got into the series. I guess that the assumption is that the Branch Family composes of most of the shinobi force with a few Main Family members allowed in, but kept within reach of the village; I mean, the only Main Family members we actually see fighting and leaving the village are Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi. In regards to the talented Seal Master bit, the series never showed anyone who was good with seals outside of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato, and the Uzumaki clan as a whole. Orochimaru never bothered with the thing, being concerned with immortality and all; Jiraiya and Minato were probably prohibited under the reasoning of it being clan seccrets, or they just never got around to analyzing it; and the Uzumaki clan... nuff said. As for outsiders, it is established that so far the Kiri-nin Ao is the only one with a Byakugan, though it was never said who he got it from. Kumo presumably had no means of analyzing the seal to get rid of it, which is why they were chasing after Main members instead of Branch members.

Well, on with the show!

Blah Human dialogue

**Blah** Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 6: The Path To Power - The Chuunin Exams Part 3

"Alright then, will the two fighters on the board please step up?"

Kankurou grinned and thought, 'It's time to get down.' Baki narrowed his eyes at his student's recklessness, and Gaara thought, 'Idiot.'

Sasuke and Kankurou walked towards Hayate, then faced each other, as Hayate said, "The fighters of the first match are Kankurou and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"

After hearing both fighters say "No!" , Hayate then said, "Alright then, will everyone else please move up to the catwalks?"

As the teams began to walk up, Kakashi appeared beside Sasuke, and said, "Don't use the Sharingan."

Sasuke, peeved at the thought of Kakashi trying to limit his growth, grinned and said, "So you know?"

"If the Curse Seal runs rampant, it may… control you or kill you, not necessarily in that order. Then your match will be the least of your worries. Understood?"

"Yeah, I figured as much," growled Sasuke. As Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura made their way up the stairs, Sasuke felt the Curse Seal throb on his neck. 'It seems like the Seal reacts to my Chakra. If I try to mold Chakra, then the Curse Seal draws strength off it. In that case, I'm going to have to try to limit my techniques.'

The Jounin-sensei of Oto, who was actually Orochimaru in disguise, snickered to himself.

"You should give up," said Sasuke. "With my skills and my eyes, you have no chance."

Kankurou simply removed the package on his back and said, "Then I'll end this quickly."

Hayate moved back, and said, "Hajime." As soon as he did, Kankurou rushed forward, wielding two kunai. He slashed at Sasuke, who fell back and double-kicked Kankurou in the chin. As the Suna-nin shook his head, Sasuke kicked him up in the air and as Kankurou floated in the air, Sasuke appeared behind him.

"What the-?" was Kankurou's words before he felt something poke him in the back.

"Kage Buyou, the Shadow Leaf Dance," said Sasuke. "Once it starts, the only end is pain... for you." He rolled himself from under Kankurou and kicked him down with his right leg. As Kankurou fell, grunting in pain, Sasuke yelled out "Shishi Rendan!" and slammed his leg down on the Suna-nin.

Kankurou lay there, and Sasuke stood shakily to his feet. But to the shock and dismay of the Konoha-nin, Kankurou stood to his feet. "That tickled," he growled, and rushed Sasuke, grabbing him in a bear hug.

Sasuke cried out as the Suna-nin gave him a crushing hug, feeling his bones creak. "Forfeit," he heard Kankurou say, "Or I break your bones." Sasuke spit in the Suna-nin's eye, which made him grin evilly, and he applied pressure. Sasuke let out a cry of pain as the Suna-nin's grip tightened. He knew that if he didn't do something quick, he was done for. He couldn't think of anything, the grip was so tight. No fire-

'That's it,' he thought. 'Please work...' As Kankurou's grip tightened even further, Sasuke reached deep into his chakra resevoir, but as he did so, he was caught off guard by a lance of pain, and spat up blood. The Curse Seal flared and began spreading across him.

This caught the attention of Anko, Hayate, Kakashi, Naruto, the Team Oto sensei, and the Hokage. "Get ready," muttered Anko, discreetly reaching for a kunai.

'Oh hell no!' thought Sasuke, Sharingan blazing. 'I will not fall to this!' He grunted, and through sheer force of will, forced the seal back into remission. At the same time, lightning arced around him, encompassing the two fighters. Kankurou was being electrocuted, but the surprise didn't stop there, oh no. The bolts of electricity left Kankurou's body and traveled along a set path, illuminated by a set of glowing wires.

"Wait a minute. Wires?" said Ino as the teams watched the electricity travel down and dance around the package Kankurou dropped. Smoke began to rise, and finally, a burned arm fell out of the bandages. Kankurou then was dropped, only to reveal…

"A puppet?" said Sakura, wide-eyed with shock.

"How'd he do that?" growled Kiba, his eyes wide.

"Smart," said Naruto. "He used his Lightning Chakra to electrocute his opponent."

As Sasuke stood shakily, Hayate moved towards Kankurou, and knelt beside him. 'No need to confirm it,' he thought, then shouted, "Shousa, Uchiha Sasuke."

As the medics came and took Kankurou away, Kakashi took charge of Sasuke. 'So, it looks like the Sharingan was a deciding factor,' thought Lee. 'You copied the moves I used on you, after seeing them once. Uchiha Sasuke, you will be a worthy opponent.'

The board went through the same process, this time ending on the names _Abumi Zaku_ and _Haru_.

"Who's this punkass?" sneered Zaku. "I wanted to fight Uzumaki… not some nameless shinobi."

"Fighters, step up," said Hayate. Haru was revealed to be the Kusa-nin in the stylized traditional shinobi wear. Once Zaku and Haru were down, Hayate moved back and said, "Hajime."

Sakura vividly remembered Zaku as the Sound-nin who had his arms broken by Naruto… after he had tried to "take" her and Ino. 'Is he going to fight with those arms?' she wondered to herself. 'If he does, then he's screwed… not that I care.'

Zaku had used one of his arms to send a Zankuuha at Haru. Haru moved to the side, avoiding the blast. Zaku fired again, and Haru dodged again, lazily. Zaku was getting annoyed, and ran forward, delivering a punch. Haru moved to the side, and blocked it. Zaku tried to swipe Haru from the side, and Haru ducked and did a backwards-somersault, kicking Zaku in the chin as he did so. As Zaku struggled to his feet, Haru snorted.

"You reveal your intentions with every movement, and you use stale moves. Pathetic," said Haru, his gravely voice dripping with scorn. "You are a disgrace to the minor villages. You will not be the one to bring the power of the minor villages to the grand scale of the world. You are useless and pathetic."

Zaku had flashbacks of when he first met Orochimaru. Back then, he had been an ordinary kid... pathetic, as Haru had said. But Orochimaru had found him, and given him power. Then he thought about Sasuke, and the Curse Seal, and how it made him look... at least for a while. When Naruto's face appeared in his head, he was consumed by rage, and he pulled his other arm from its sling. Aiming both arms at Haru, he roared, "How's this for pathetic!?"

But when he tried to fire, Haru appeared in front and clasped his hands over Zaku's. "N-no!" yelled Zaku, as he fired. Unfortunately for him, Haru's hands were more solid than he thought, and the blocked energies had nowhere to go but backwards and outwards. The results were that Zaku's forearms exploded, leaving behind naught but shattered bone, wet red flesh, and Zaku's hands still clenched in Haru's grip.

"Worthless bug," said Haru, tossing the hands aside as Zaku screamed in pain. With that, he delivered a crushing headbutt to Zaku, knocking the Sound-nin unconscious.

"What... what the hell was that?" asked Kiba, as Hayate pronounced Haru the winner. Four medic-nins appeared as Haru walked up the stairs and rejoined his team.

"How did he do that?" asked Ino, her eyes on the thankfully unconscious Zaku, who disappeared off to the medic bays. The medic-nins had covered up the stumps that were his arms with bandages, and two remained behind to pick up the biggest pieces of his arms that were left.

Naruto's eyes were on Haru's hands, which had the bottoms of the gloves shredded, revealing pale hands and a metallic circular object tied to the palms. "Well, that explains how he blocked the arms," he said to himself. "But why is he covered up so much? What is he hiding...?"

In the meantime, Kakashi appeared with a "Yo!" "Don't 'yo' me! What about Sasuke-teme? Is he all right?" went Naruto.

'He's fine, he just sleeping at the hospital," said Kakashi, while thinking, 'With a couple of ANBU around him. No need to tell them about my little run-in with Orochimaru.' Thinking back, Kakashi knew in his heart that Orochimaru would have probably killed him and taken Sasuke had he fought. Then he would have had to deal with an angry mother, in the form of Mikoto. He shuddered; Mikoto was rather mellow, but piss her off at your own peril...

In the meantime, the board had spouted out two more names: _Yamanaka Ino_ vs. _Haruno Sakura_. "Moving on," said Hayate, coughing a little and getting their attention. "Next match, Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino." The two rivals glanced at each other, then made their way down to the arena.

"Mendokuse," said Shikamaru. This is a troublesome match."

"How so?" asked Chouji.

"If Sakura wins, then Ino won't stop bitching about it. And if Ino wins, then she won't shut up about it," explained Shikamaru. "As far as I can see, we're screwed."

Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura had been throwing kicks and punches at each other. When that refused to work, the two kunoichis tied their hitai-ates' to their foreheads, then started doing their things.

Sakura opened up by reaching into her backpack and drawing out two bottles of water, and squirting the water at Ino. As the water fell short, Ino leapt backwards and laughed at her rival. "What was that, the water bottle squirt technique?" she asked, pulling out two kunai. "You'll have to do better than that!"

"That was pathetic," growled Haru, glaring at the two through his goggles. Karin nodded. "That makes me wonder how she became a kunoichi..."

"Your teammate sucks, dobe," said Kiba, grinning at Naruto. Naruto gave him the finger, and said, "There's a method to the madness, Kibble."

Sakura revealed that method with an evil grin. Tossing the empty bottles aside, she followed with a flurry of hand seals, then cried out, "Suiton: Suihashira no Jutsu (1) !". From the spots of water on the ground, three objects looking like pillars lanced out and delivered solid blows to the Yamanaka, shocking her and causing her to fly backwards. "Suiton!?" she gasped. "How did you do that!?"

"That for me to know and you to find out," said Sakura, and she flashed through hand seals again, this time through more. It was times like this where she was thankful for the fact that Naruto was her teammate, because he helped her with her Suiton, in exchange for her helping him get a handle on separating his elements. Kakashi-sensei was helpful too; in fact, he showed her how to do this technique, and the next one. Ino retaliated by throwing two kunai at Sakura, who jumped away and finished with the Ram Seal. "Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu (2)!" she cried, and a medium-sized shark made of water rose up from the puddles and, with a push from Sakura, lunged at Ino with its jaws agape, who jumped to the side at the last minute, causing the shark to crash into the far wall and fall apart.

Haru frowned, though no one could tell it. "I take back what I said before," he muttered. "That was actually... smart."

"How are those words, Kibble?" asked Naruto, grinning at the growling Kiba. "Are they bitter and salty, or are they tart and tangy?"

"Shut up!" spat Kiba. "How did she do that?"

"Interesting," said Shikamaru. "She didn't have access to a water source, so she brought along bottled water. Caught us all off guard when she squirted them, except Naruto apparently, because we thought it was a useless gesture." He stroked his chin. "I feel... annoyed that I didn't see that coming."

Meanwhile, Sakura, having drained her reserves with those two jutsu, resorted to taijutsu. She charged Ino and delivered a solid punch to her right side, while Ino delivered a kick to Sakura's left. Following that, it became a full-blown cat… er, fist-fight.

"Sensei," said Naruto, watching the kunoichi fight and shred each other's clothes a little. "Is it wrong to feel certain urges right now?"

"Yes Naruto, it is."

"Ya know, they're sorta scary when they fight," murmured Chouji, while Asuma thought 'There's no end in sight if they keep up like this.'

Apparently, Ino was thinking the same thing when, in a fit of pride, after Sakura said that she (Ino) was weaker than she (Sakura) was, she cut off her ponytail, spreading platinum-blonde hair across the floor. Putting her hands in the Ram Seal, Ino shouted, "I'm gonna end this now by making you give up!"

Immediately, Shikamaru knew what she was going to do. "She-she wouldn't…!"

Ino did. Putting her hands in the Bird Seal, she confirmed Team 10's fears. "Geez, that idiot…" said Asuma.

"I know you're in a hurry, but that's useless," said Sakura, grinning.

"We'll see about that," said Ino. "Ninpou: Shintenshin no Jutsu. I'm gonna leave my body and enter yours, and make you give up."

'That idiot,' thought Asuma. 'Shintenshin travels in a straight line, and slowly to add. If she misses, she won't be able to return to her own body for a few minutes, leaving her body vulnerable to the enemy.'

Long story short: Ino managed to trap Sakura in a trap by pretending to do Shintenshin, but in actuality channeled Chakra into her hair on the floor, ensnaring Sakura in a Chakra Rope. Then she did the Shintenshin. However, she didn't count on Inner Sakura being in Sakura head, roused by a yelling Naruto. Inner Sakura threatened Ino with a true vision of Hell, and forced Ino back into her body.

'What the hell was that!?' was Ino's first thought back in her body.

'Ino shouldn't have been kicked out that quick,' thought Kakashi, his eye on the match below. 'It's true that Ino was low on Chakra, but the fighting spirit inside Sakura towards Ino, her rival, had a bigger effect than the Shintenshin. That was triggered by Naruto's voice, and once it had awakened, it kicked Ino out.

During Kakashi's thoughts, Ino and Sakura had leapt at each other for the final blow, but when the blows connected, the two Kunoichis knocked each other out. The force of the blows were so strong that they knocked off each other's hitai-ate's.

"Huh. A double K.O." murmured Dosu.

"About damn time, too," growled Haru. "That was wretchedly pathetic, yet somehow entertaining... to a point."

Meanwhile, Hayate had glanced at the downed Kunoichis only once, and then gave his verdict. "Both are unable to fight. Due to a double knockout, neither Kunoichi passes this round."

After Kakashi and Asuma had retrieved their charges, and the unconscious girls found themselves surrounded by their teammates, plus one Rock Lee and minus one Sasuke (obviously), the board went off. The two names that appeared were _Tenten_ and _Burei_.

Tenten appeared on the floor in front of Burei and Burei likewise. 'I'm psyched ever since that last match,' thought Tenten, sizing up her opponent.

"This will be an interesting match," said Neji.

"Do your best, Tenten!" shouted Lee.

In the meantime, Sakura and Ino had made their peace, and Hayate began the next Preliminary Match. With Gai and Lee shouting words of encouragement, all Naruto was thinking was, 'These two are louder than I am!'

Burei reached behind himself, into the pack on his back, and tossed shuriken at Tenten, who dodged and tossed kunai at him.

He deflected the kunai with a weapon that looked like a trident that he brought out of nowhere, and lunged at her, the weapon seeking out her body to impale. She brought out a sword from _somewhere_, and deflected the blade with her own. Burei quickly spun the tridented weapon so that the staff side swung around and smacked into Tenten, throwing her to the side. Tenten recovered, and threw the sword at Burei, who caught the sword blade-first in his free hand, but turned, revealing the shielded back that the incoming kunai impacted on.

"You're good," said Tenten. "And where did you get the Jumonji Yari (3)?"

"I made it," said Burei, throwing the sword to the ground. "And thank you for the compliment. I never expected to battle a weapon's user."

"And I never expect to battle a Souhei either."

"What's a Souhei?" asked Naruto, having never heard the term before. He was not alone, as most of the Genin were at a loss. The answer came from Hinata, of all people.

"Souhei were old warrior monks, back in the early days, when the Daimyou's did not use shinobi. They were the protectors of their temples and their religion, which follow a figure called the Buddha. Over time, they fell out of practice, and they were dissolved centuries ago." At the looks she was given, she blushed. "O-Otou-sama ensured th-that myself and Hanabi-chan knew th-the old h-history."

"Interesting," said Asuma. "Reminds me of the Ninsou in the Nindera."

"The shinobi monks and the shinobi temples?" asked Sakura. "Have you been to any?"

"Just the Fire Temple," said Asuma. "In any case, looks like those two are done talking."

Indeed they were, as one moment, Burei was there, and the next, he slammed his weapon on the ground where Tenten once stood. Tenten herself sprung backwards and tossing kunai at Burei, who spun his weapon like a baton, scattering the kunai and causing them to fly everywhere.

"He's fast," said Lee.

"In spite of that large body, he can keep up with Tenten," said Neji. "I wonder... will she break _it_ out?"

"It" was what Tenten was thinking of anyway. She brought out a scroll, which let her team know that she was trying to end the match. She rushed forward, and as Burei rushed her, she jumped on his head and into the air, where she unfurled the scroll. As it unfurled, she began spinning, the scroll twirling like a ribbon, and as she began spinning faster, Burei jumped up after her.

He waited too long. The twister that was Tenten and her scroll began shooting out kunai, shuriken, swords, and kusarigama. He was able to deflect some of them with his weapon, but by the time they were done, he had kunai and shuriken sticking out of his arms, legs, and clothing. The two shinobi landed, appraising each other.

'Dammit,' thought Tenten. 'It's like what I'm doing isn't hurting him at all. Did he drug himself so he wouldn't feel pain?'

"You seem to be a good warrior," said Burei. "Forfeit, and no harm will come to your blessed form."

"Oh hell no," she growled. "If it's one thing I hate, it's being patronized." She drew out two scrolls, planted them upright, and went through hand seals; Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Hare, Snake, then she crossed her arms. There was a blast of smoke, and Burei shielded his face. During that, two dragons made of smoke rose from the top of the cloud and spun around each other, before turning into scrolls. Tenten jumped in between them, called out "Soushoryuu!" and spun, tossing out weapons like before, except this time, there were much more. As the smoke cleared, Burei was lying on his back, weapons imbedded in his body, and the headcowl covering his face.

Tenten landed, and suddenly, there was a blast of smoke from Burei's body, and Tenten raised an arm to shield her face. She saw a dark blur, and as the smoke cleared, the blur rushed her.

All the spectators were treated to the image of a smaller shinobi bicycle-kicking Tenten, the kunoichi letting out cries of pain with each impact. He did it at least fourteen times before jumping backwards, causing Tenten to fall backwards, before struggling to her feet. He landed letting everyone get a good look at him.

"Good lord," came from Kurenai. The cause was the sight of the shinobi. He was now closer to Sasuke's height, but they weren't sure about that because he was hunched over a little, so he might have been taller. He wore a bandanna that bore the Kusagakure sigil on it, a black mask around his mouth that hung to around his neck, held in place by a black scarf. He also wore a dark purple kosode and dark purple hakama, red armbands that had black gloves tucked into them, with the gloves having a trio of metal plates on top, and a red sash around his waist. The sash held a number of tools, such as a kunai pouch, a shuriken pouch, a telescope, and two scrolls. On his back was a Ninjatou, but it was his legs that had drawn the attention.

They were digitigraded and metallic, from what they could see of the portions below the hakama, which were tied off below the second joint. The feet were metallic and bird-shaped, with three toes instead of four, and offered him a free range of motion.

Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugan, and frowned and gasped respectively. "I can't see through his clothing," said Neji to Gai and Lee. "He must have some kind of seal on his outfit preventing my sight."

"B-but from the way it l-looks," said Hinata to her team, "Th-those are his a-actual legs."

"What the hell happened to your legs?" asked Tenten in shock and horror.

"An unfortunate accident," said Burei, opening his arms in a manner befitting a great speaker. "However, that is neither here or there. Here, we must finish our battle."

"Wait, so you hid in a false body for our battle?" Tenten asked, getting angry. She had looked over to see the form he had used earlier still lying on the ground, but through the torn cloth and now revealed leather armor was the wooden body of something like a puppet.

"No different than sending a puppet to do one's dirty work," said Burei, his eyes smiling at his jab at Kankurou. "Only difference is that I was actually doing the fighting with the body, not controlling it from a distance."

Tenten's response was to swipe her arms at Burei, the weapons on the ground rising up and rushing at the Kusa-nin. Burei's counter was grabbing the body he left on the ground and using it as a shield to block the incoming weapons. "Shame," he muttered, as Tenten's weapons impacted on the body. "I was rather fond of this one." As the hailfire of weapons ceased, he threw the body at Tenten, flashing through three hand seals as it flew through the air. "Rat... Dog... Tiger..." he muttered, before inhaling and exhaling a small fireball. "Katon: Zukokku!"

The fireball flew through the air before impacting on the body, and erupting into a massive firestorm that raced towards Tenten, sending flame and debris racing towards her. Paling, the kunoichi leapt into the air to avoid the firestorm, taking her weapons with her.

Ino shrieked as the heat wave hit the audience, along with ash and embers. "What is he, nuts!?" she shrieked as the fire died down.

He was currently dodging weapons that came his way, while flashing toward hand seals. "Tiger... Ox... Dog... Rabbit... Snake..." he muttered, before inhaling. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" He exhaled a blast of wind that blew the weapons back and caused Tenten to cover her face. She dropped to the ground, before rushing Burei with a sword and thrust forward. Burei dodged it by leaning backwards to the point where his back was parallel with the floor.

"Flexible," muttered Anko, smiling a little.

The sword thrust missed him, but cut into his scarf and mask, cutting them in two and revealing his face and hair. His hair was straight and black, framing his face cut in an asymmetrical bob style with the front bangs reaching his shoulders. He had prominent eyelashes that framed his sea-green eyes and, smiled shyly with a mouth characterized by full pink lips at the awestruck Tenten. "Oh dear," he said lightly. "It appears that I've been unmasked."

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata turned red, with envy or rage was up to the viewers discretion. "That's not right!" said Sakura. "He's gorgeous! Why is he gorgeous!?"

Naruto cringed. Somehow, somewhere, he was sure that he would have made a mistake like this... talking to a pretty girl and find out she was a pretty boy. "I hate pretty boy's," he muttered.

Ni grinned. "Now she's off guard," she said. "Finish it."

Burei grinned and somersaulted, kicking Tenten in the chin and into the air. He jumped after her and tackled her from the air and brought her to the ground, landing on her and causing her to cry out in pain. He stood, grabbing Tenten and bearhugged her, causing her to scream in pain, then tossed her in the air. By this point, she was blissfully unconscious.

"He took all of Tenten's attacks and shut them like it was nothing," said Gai, shocked by the turns of the match and Burei's brutality.

Ni smiled and said, "We are not to be trifled with."

"That was sufficiently entertaining," said Burei, as he caught the falling Tenten by her Chinese shirt. "I am sorry, dear lady, but I was just a terrible opponent for you to face."

"The shinobi from Kusa," said the Sandaime, "are truly fearsome."

"Match winner, Burei."

At the triumphant smirk Burei gave off, followed by the discarding of Tenten, Lee disappeared from Naruto's side and reappeared in front of the thrown Tenten, and caught her.

"Nice catch."

"Why did you do that!?" shouted Lee. "Is that not something you should do to someone who fought their hardest!?"

Burei, content with his victory, crossed his arms and said, "I gave her the opportunity to leave, and she refused, electing the way of pain. Now, take her and go."

In response, Lee gave off a Konoha Senpuu, despite Neji's cries of "Stop Lee!" Which was blocked by Burei's arm. "Interesting," he said. "You appear to be living proof that chivalry is not dead amongst the shinobi race." When Gai-sensei appeared, Ni decided that enough was enough.

"Burei, get back up here. You won. Leave that ugly guy and his ugly guardian."

Lee glared up at Ni, who smirked down at the Genin, while Gai clutched his heart in imaginary pain, and Lee's shoulder. "Let it go, Lee." Gai then turned his attention to Gaara. "Lady of Kusa, a word." At Ni's nod, Gai said, "My student is stronger than you know. Just remember that."

As the Medic-nins carried Tenten away, Burei picked up his Jumonji Yari and pulled off one of the scrolls. Unfurling it and placing the weapon on the scroll, he put his hands into the Ram Seal, and sealed the weapon into the scroll. Satisfied, he bowed to the Hokage and the proctor, and walked back to his team, well aware that many eyes were on his legs.

"That one is dangerous," said Neji. "Polite and refined, yet with an apparent sadistic streak... He's someone to watch out for. If we meet on the battlefield again though, I will emerge victorious."

Kiba scoffed at Neji's words. "They're trying to pick a fight with the team from Kusa? From what I've seen, I'd NEVER want to fight them. Them and the team from Suna." The team from Kusa was brutal, based off of the two that had fought, but he had seen first-hand how the team from Sunagakure had massacred the team from Amegakure. Or more accurately, how Gaara had massacred those three.

Hinata slightly nodded and added, "They're a strong team." It wasn't sure who that was meant for... possibly both teams.

The board started shuffling names again, and Rock Lee was giving out shouts of "All right! Me next, please!" Naruto stood calmly, although inside he was churning and itching to fight. Heedless of Lee's pleas, the machine showed two names that were clearly _not_ either of theirs, much to their disappointment.

_Nara Shikamaru_ vs. _Tsuchi Kin_.

"Me, eh?" said Shikamaru as he made his way into the arena, with Ino shouting, "Shikamaru, don't lose! Be a man! Be as swift as the coursing river!"

Ignoring the loud blonde, Dosu cautioned his teammate, "He uses the shadows. Beware of them."

Kin smirked and said, "I won't fall for that stupid trick."

Once both were in the arena, Shikamaru groaned. "Hey ref, can I get a redraw?"

"Sorry, all decisions are final…"

"Damn," said Shikamaru. "Mendokuse… On top of that, I'll be dealing with a girl."

Kin, pissed about his earlier comment, replied, "Then I'll be sure to finish this match quick."

'I know what her teammates can use…' thought Shikamaru, as Hayate began the match, '… but I have no idea what she can do. On top of that, she saw my technique. And I can only this…' He put his hands into the Rat Seal.

As he tried to do his Kage Mane no Jutsu, Kin dodged and threw senbon at him. When he dodged, he noticed that the two she threw had bells on them. "So that's your game? You throw the senbon with the bells, and I'll react to the sound, and not notice the other senbon you throw." He grinned. "Clever."

Kin managed to trick him with chakra strings attached to the bells, which not only surprised Shikamaru so she could hit him, it also cast a Genjutsu every time he heard the ringing. Right now, instead of one Kin, he was seeing twelve. 'But which one's the real one?'

When Shikamaru used his Kage Mane to travel along the string and connect with her body, she was more than surprised. He drew a kunai from his pouch, and she did the same. Holding it up to his neck, he said, "Forfeit… or I'll cut the both of us."

Kin knew better than to call his bluff, so she did so.

"Shousa, Nara Shikamaru." Kin walked back dejectedly to her Team's spot, heedful of the glare Dosu sent at her.

When the board started, Kiba started counting off who was left. "Let's see… that Oto-nin, me, Hinata-chan, Naruto-teme, Shino, Chouji, Lee, Neji, that girl from Kusa, and that guy and girl from Suna." Watching the board, he anxiously added, "And I pray to Kami-sama that I don't get matched up with that guy from Suna."

Neji, watching the screen, said in an undertone, "I guess I can have fun with the rookies this year…" He trailed off, casting a glare at Hinata, who looked away after noticing Neji's glare.

The names on the board stopped, saying _Uzumaki Naruto_ vs. _Inuzuka Kiba_.

"Finally," said Naruto, while Kiba shouted "Hell to the yeah! We got lucky! Let's kick his ass, Akamaru!" Apparently, Kiba was forgetful of his previous fear.

Lee slumped dejectedly, murmuring, 'If I'm not next, then Sakura-san will call me Fuzzy-brows and hate me…'

Naruto removed his bag and set it down next to Kakashi. "I aim to use my own skills," he said. "Could you look after the Brain until I get back." Kakashi nodded, and Naruto walked down to the arena, with the Brain poking his head out of the bag to watch. Kakashi glanced at his student and thought, 'Naruto… show me, no, show all of us just how much you've grown.' Opposite of him, Kurenai chuckled. 'Let's see what you can do Uzumaki. Will you fall to your rival, or will you succeed?'

When Naruto and Kiba entered the arena, and Hayate started the match, Naruto said, "I was getting sick of waiting, and now I'm itching to fight."

Kiba growled and pointed, yelling, "Hey, you bastard, that's my line! Just for that, I already got this match won! Right, Akamaru?"

When Akamaru whimpered, Kiba scratched his ears, reassuring his partner. When Akamaru reluctantly agreed to help fight, Kiba then pointed at Naruto again and said, "Hey, dead last, let's make a deal! Beat me, and I might let you go out with Hinata-chan! When you lose, you gotta leave us alone… like, forever!"

Had Naruto had no self-control, he would have shouted out how his Hinata-chan wasn't some trophy to barter. However, he was still annoyed by Kiba's outburst. "What makes you so confident?"

"What makes you!?"

"I know something you don't… now don't bring your owner into this."

As Kiba yelled about how they were partners "for the last time!", Hayate intervened on Kiba's behalf, saying, "Nin-ken count as tools, just like the Aburame bugs and a standard shinobi's kunai."

"Meh…"

Kiba grinned as he watched Naruto. 'I don't know how strong he's gotten since that dual-Team mission…' He remembered back when he had first seen Naruto. Naruto had been a third-year academy student trying to be funny, who had no grasp of Shinobi abilities. But then there was that Wave Mission, and he had seen a new side to the blonde. Still, he had no idea of what went on in the time they got back and now. 'Heh… things may have changed, but I'm still the top dog around here.'

Holding out his fist, Kiba said, "I'll take you out in one pity hit."

"Whatever, you can't beat me."

This proved to be an intriguing match. Kiba had opened up with Ninpou: Shikakyu no Jutsu, and charged Naruto, elbowing him in the stomach. Naruto flew a few feet, then lay still. A grinning Kiba was shocked when Naruto poofed into smoke, and Kiba was able to dodge the blow that came. 'When did he… What did he do?'

"Don't…" said Naruto, grinning at Kiba, "… underestimate me."

Oblivious to the cheers Lee, Sakura, Ino, Karin, and strangely Shikamaru were throwing him, he wiped some blood off the corner of his mouth. 'I still got hit a little… I may be a bit slower, but I'm still stronger...'

"Hey, you're bleeding! You're not all cool, so stop playing the tough guy!"

"Heh, take your own advice, dog-boy!"

Kiba growled and beckoned Akamaru to him, then reached into the pouch on his back, and threw some smoke bombs. The smoke was so thick, Naruto couldn't see anything. When he started getting hit, he knew he was in for a surprise. 'Using the smoke as cover, eh?' he thought. Since his eyes were useless here… well, he could've used his Kekkei Genkai now, but it would raise a lot of unwanted questions, questions he didn't want to go through. Plus, he didn't want to overly rely on his eyes. So he decided to use his ears.

He heard hear the low hissing of the smoke… THERE! He jumped, narrowly avoiding the blow Kiba had thrown, and exiting the smoke.

He forgot Akamaru. The minute he saw the dog, he knew. Akamaru had jumped at Naruto and pushed him back into the smoke.

"N-Naruto-kun…"

"Damn, I can't see anything," said Shikamaru.

The smoke cleared, revealing the downed form of Naruto, next to a tail-wagging Akamaru. Kiba was ready to congratulate the running Akamaru, who proceeded to bite Kiba's arm, to everyone's shock.

Even more shocking was when Akamaru poofed back into Naruto, who immediately let go and started spitting, yelling, "You taste like dog!", whilst the real Akamaru was being held by a Naruto clone.

'Interesting,' thought Neji. 'He bit Kiba on his own, then complained about it.'

"Yeah, Naruto-kun! You can do it!"

Kiba, however, was pretty confident in himself. He threw Akamaru a Soldier Pill, which made Akamaru turn red and get stronger. Akamaru broke free of the Bunshin, which poofed into smoke, and Akamaru rejoined Kiba. At this point, Kiba was anxious to end it there. He performed a Jyuujin Bunshin, which turned Akamaru into a Kiba clone.

Even at this, Naruto grinned. As the two Kiba's performed the original's signature jutsu, the Gatsuuga, Naruto dodged each and every one of them. Kiba got pissed, and then grinned as he drew his trump card.

"I know what you did earlier."

Naruto stopped dodging to tilt his head in false confusion. "Like what?"

"You were trying to shack up with another girl," he said, triumphantly pointing at Kin, who felt the urge to curl up and let the earth swallow her. Well, after she castrated Kiba. All they did was talk, and he made it sound like they were rolling in the hay, doing the horizontal tango, becoming the beast with two backs, and a host of other tasteful euphemisms.

"This looks fun," commented Asuma, as he saw the Oto kunoichi being given strange looks, mostly from the proctors.

"Hinata-chan likes… no, she loves you, and you break her heart by going with another girl. You're scum, not worthy of being Hokage," said Kiba, thinking that Hinata could be his girl now.

Hinata's eyes were on Naruto, glistening. "P-Please... tell me it's n-not true..."

Naruto looked up at Hinata, twitched, and his eyes grew cold. "Okay, I don't know how you spied on me and Kin, but if you did, then you'd know that all we did is talk. She talked to me, and I talked to her, and that's it. But I see what you're doing. You're trying to make me out like a womanizer, like a bad guy... well, I'm not. I'm just a good ear to talk to. But you... you're the bad guy right here, right now. You tried to make Hinata-chan cry. You make her cry... you FUCK with me around with the title Hokage... you do any of those things, then you've just gotten yourself the ass-raping of a lifetime, with NO LUBE."

Hinata, Kin, Sakura, and Karin reddened and cringed at Naruto's foul language. "He's pissed," said Kin.

"He's pretty loyal to you, Hinata," said Sakura to the Hyuuga girl. "He's not stupid enough to go chasing after another girl."

Meanwhile, Kiba laughed. "And at are you gonna do about it, girly-man?"

Naruto grinned; the kind of grin that one would see on the face of a demon ready the let go in a village of innocent female virgins. Holding hands in the pose reminiscent of Zabuza, he said, "Give you the gift of the element of life…"

Kakashi's eyes widened, and he started laughing. "What's with you, Kakashi?" asked Kurenai.

"That Naruto... it looks like he's got a fair grasp of his abilities," said the laughing Kakashi. "Watch this."

Naruto flashed through handseals as the two Kiba's rushed him, circling around until her was at the far wall, and ended the seals in Bird. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!."

The water from before, that Sakura had used against Ino, which somehow escaped evaporation from Burei's fire jutsu, rose up to form a snarling dragon rushed forward, slamming into the two Kiba's; pushing the two back as they yelled out, before slamming them into the wall on the far end. When the water collapsed, Kiba and Akamaru fell to the ground; the former falling to his knees and the latter turning back into his canine form.

"H-How?" gasped Kiba. "How can you beat me…?"

Naruto grinned again, revealing his fangs, and said, "Because you and nearly everyone else thought that I was the same goofball from before. Well, misdirection is a wonderful thing... dicking around like an idiot, then the surprise with the super-cool jutsu. That just goes to show you... don't underestimate your opponent... especially me. I am Uzumaki Naruto after all."

'Indeed,' thought Hayate warily. "Shousa, Uzumaki Naruto."

Kurenai was speechless. Her Kiba had just been beaten by the dead-last of the academy. Granted, she did see some of his skill in Nami, but this was insane. "Where did he learn a move like that, Kakashi?" she asked him.

"I'd like to know that, too," said Asuma. "I mean no disrespect, but he was the dead last of his class."

"From our A-Rank mission, I suppose," said Kakashi, pride evident in his voice. "It just goes to show that he is the most unpredictable shinobi in Konoha."

Sandaime was thinking along the same lines. He smiled at the one who he knew would earn the title of Hokage someday. 'A B-rank Suiton jutsu,' he thought. 'He's come far… even though it's a far stretch from Kage Bunshin.'

At this point, Naruto had walked up the stairs, and found himself being tackled by Hinata. "That was fun," he said, hugging his current lady.

"When did that happen?" asked Iruka. "I mean, it's about time, but when did it happen?"

"These things are probably best left alone," said Ibiki, raising an eyebrow at the male blonde. "I just feel sorry for him when Hiashi finds out."

"I'm sorry for doubting you," Hinata whispered. Naruto grinned and said, "No big. No harm, no foul."

In the meantime, Hyuuga Neji glared at the two rookies, malevolently plotting how best to end what they had. 'You seem so carefree… Hinata-sama.'

At length, Hinata caught sight of the medic-nins carrying Kiba and Akamaru away. She caught up with them and tried to give Kiba the ointment she made, but he denied it, saying that she had to look out for herself. Then he said, "Out of all of us left, if you have to fight that Sand guy or Neji, forfeit right away. They'll be harsh on you, and you'll get beaten… badly."

Before Hinata had a chance to respond, the board went off, revealing what she and Kiba had feared.

_Hyuuga Hinata_ vs. _Hyuuga Neji_.

"Damnation," groaned Kiba, as the medics carried him out.

When the two made it to the center of the arena, Naruto and Sakura were under the impression that the two were siblings. Lee informed them that Neji and Hinata were cousins, and that it was a bad thing that they were fighting, because of recent bad blood between the two branches that each came from; Hinata from the Hyuuga Main, and Neji from the Hyuuga Branch. As he was about to elaborate more, Hayate began the match.

Neji started out by belittling Hinata on how she should forfeit because she wasn't suited to being a shinobi because of her nature. When Hinata began to protest, it brought a memory back to Kurenai, of when she took charge of Hinata. She had met with Hinata's father, Hyuuga Hiashi, in regards to Hinata being a shinobi. Without a second thought, Hiashi told Kurenai to take Hinata to do with as she saw fit, for he saw his eldest daughter as "Nothing more than a defect who couldn't even beat her own younger sister who was five years younger."

"This guy is an idiot," said Burei softly.

"What do you mean?" asked Haru.

"Anyone can see that she and the two-toned Uzumaki are sweet on each other," said Burei. "And you saw what happened earlier with the dog-boy. If he and the Hyuuga boy end up fighting, the Hyuuga will be in for the fight of his life."

While Burei explained this to his teammates, Neji started telling Hinata that trying to change herself was useless, that she was fated to be the failure of the Hyuuga Clan. It was at that point that Naruto knew he definitely stepped over the line, because that was an insult to him and Hinata. So when Neji started playing his mind games with poor Hinata, Naruto did what he always did when he got mad; he started yelling.

"Shut the hell up!" When Neji looked to acknowledge him, as did the other Genin, Naruto continued on. "You can't just label people like that! All that stuff you spout out is a bunch of crap in your head!"

'What a noisy guy,' thought Neji, but his eyes narrowed upon seeing Hinata. 'She looks… determined. Confident…' "So you're not giving up? Don't blame me for what happens later, then."

'Arigatou, Naruto-kun,' thought Hinata, as she activated her Byakugan. 'I won't… run away… anymore…' thought she as she slid into the Jyuuken stance. "Let us fight… Neji-nii-san."

Even though Hinata put up a good fight, she was still no match for Neji. Neji revealed that he had been using the Jyuuken since he started fighting, and already Hinata was starting to feel the effects. When Neji hit her in the chest, she flew backwards and hit the floor… hard.

When Neji started on about his crap about how she was fated to lose, she shakily stood to her feet, saying that she wouldn't back down, that she was going to change.

When she started coughing up blood, everyone knew something was wrong. Kakashi said that Neji had more than sealed a number of Tenketsu, disabling Hinata's ability to use the Jyuuken. And yet…

She still fought. She fought to the limits of her ability, trying to follow her Naruto-kun's example. All those years of watching, him verses the prejudice of the village, he had proven his strength. Even though the beast lay within, she saw him as an inspiration; trying to change himself for acknowledgement. Now, she was reminded of when she bared her soul to Naruto, and his response. 'When I was watching Naruto-kun…' she thought as she fought, '…it made me feel like I can accomplish something if I try. It made me feel like I'm worth something. But now… I have to prove that I'm worthy... that I'm not just another pretty face...' That line of thought came from the memory of first meeting Gekidou, and his comment of how Uzumaki like their intended to be stronger.

When Neji gave her a Jyuuken uppercut, he was sure that would end the match. But he was wrong, and annoyed when she stared at him through her vein-surrounded eyes, then charged him. So he did what he knew he'd take pleasure in.

He gave her a Jyuuken blow to the heart.

She fell to the ground, much to the chagrin of the rookies and Lee. When Neji told her that she was too weak to lay a finger on him, he deactivated his Byakugan and started walking to the stairs.

He fell to the ground, clutching the back of his right leg as the muscle began to spasm. "H-How?"

Hinata slowly rose up, her hands glowing green. "J-Just because… otou-sama w-won't train me… d-doesn't mean I'm u-useless." Her breathing went back to normal as she ran her hands over her chest. "The Jyuuken c-can be quite useful for M-Medic-ninjutsu… I just s-simulated a c-cramp to your legs. Y-You should f-feel the effect on the other s-soon…"

Immediately, Neji growled and clutched his other leg. She had cheated! She used her Jyuuken for Medic-ninjutsu instead of the noble Hyuuga Jyuuken the way it was meant to be used.

(Note: I am aware that I did this last time, but I just couldn't get rid of it. This was a good fight scene I did, so I kept it. Also, please note that Cramps HURT like a motherf*cker. I've actually had them in both legs once… T_T Bad memories.)

Naruto gave out a cry of victory. "Kick his fate-loving ass, Hinata-chan!" The Brain joined him in cheering from his spot on the ground, waving his little arms and hissing... and drawing the attention of others, such as Asuma.

"What the hell is that thing?" he muttered. "Second thought, I might be much safer not knowing..."

Neji growled as he saw his cousin blush. 'So… she taught herself Medic-ninjutsu, eh? I know the human body as well, and these… cramps will wear off soon.'

Unfortunately, he was right. The pulsing pain in his legs wore off, and the Hyuuga genius used that opportunity to attack. He fell upon his cousin like a wild beast, raining blow after blow upon her. Hinata tried to parry every blow, but she still hadn't recovered from the hits from before.

At length, Neji delivered he thought was the final blow; a combination palm strike and uppercut, to Naruto's alarmed cry. Hinata fell to her knees, coughing out blood. "You should have stayed down, Hinata-sama," he said triumphantly. His eyes narrowed when he saw her struggling to rise. "Why…" he whispered. Then he said to her, "Why, Hinata-sama? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something... something important? For more than your advancement, for proof of your existence? For some sort of freedom or truth? Could it be for love?" He snorted. "Love is an illusion, Hinata-sama. A temporary state of being for a lonely wretch trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose, except what has been laid out for us already. It is useless to fight what you are fated to do, to become, although only a weakling could believe that they can fight fate, to believe in something as insipid as love." He frowned, ignoring the hissing of the crowd of Genin. "You must be able to see it, Hinata-sama. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting, so just give up. Lay down and let fate take over." He frowned, his ire rising as Hinata continued to rise. "Why, Hinata-sama? Why? Why do you persist?"

Hinata lifted her head, gazing at her cousin through pain-filled eyes, and smiled. "B-Because I ch-choose to…"

Incensed, Neji rushed her, Byakugan blazing and ignoring Hayate's cries of "Neji, The match has ended!", fully intent on sending his younger cousin to her fate... to the eternal care unit.

He found himself lunging to the side to avoid a projectile. He straightened himself to fight this new arrival, and he froze.

Naruto stood in front of Hinata, his eyes blood red and hate-filled, brandishing Kubikiri Boucho. He snarled at Neji, revealing lengthened canines. "You touch her," he snarled, emitting bloodlust, "and you'll leave this world in pieces!"

Unconsciously, his bloodlust was reaching out and affecting the everyone else in the expansive room. The only ones not affected were Sandaime, Ibiki, and Gaara. Kakashi, Iruka, Gai, Kurenai, Ni, and Asuma were wary on an instinctive level, and the others… well, you get the picture.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside Naruto, Kurama grinned maliciously as his chakra was funneled toward Naruto. "**Yes!**" he crowed. "**Yes! Get mad! Prove that I am right! Prove that in spite of what you say, you will use my power! Break your word, and prove me right!**" The great Kitsune frowned at something above him. It was a glowing gray orb surrounded by five other orbs; three were lit (one orange, one yellow, one white), one was black, and the other was pulsing an icy-blue color. "**What is this?**" he muttered. "**Some unknown devilry?**"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Neji knew at this moment that it _might_ have a big mistake to try to decimate Hinata like he did. In his anger at the Main Family, he had forgotten what he had witnessed in the Forest of Death, when that spiky-haired Oto-nin was ready to… assault the Haruno and Yamanaka. And he had saw Hinata and Naruto embracing earlier, so he cursed himself for a severe lapse in foresight. Although, he was actually relieved that backup had arrived, in the form of Gai-sensei and Yuuhi Kurenai.

"Neji," said Gai. "You swore you would leave the issues with the Branch out of this."

"This is justice," growled Neji. "Righting a wrong that was dealt years ago." He tensed as Naruto aimed Kubikiri Boucho at him.

"Kin-slaying is not justice, trash," growled Naruto, his eyes burning. Still, they went back from the hateful red back to blue... but they still looked like they were shining.

Hinata watched through wide eyes, when she collapsed, gasping out blood. Naruto resealed Kubikiri Boucho and was on his knees in seconds. "Hinata-chan!" he gasped, cradling her bridal-style.

"Genin Uzumaki!" came the voice of the Sandaime. "Relinquish the Hyuuga heiress to the Medic-nin." Said Medic-nin crowded around him. Reluctantly, he placed her down, at which point, the Medic-nin began examining her. "Shit, her heart's fluttering," said one of them. "We've got to get her to the ICU, stat," said another as they rushed her out.

Naruto made to follow, but he was held back by Kurenai, of all people. "You can't," she said. "If you leave now, you'll be disqualified."

"But-"

"I understand how you feel, but you can't go off doing whatever," she said, letting him go. "You'll have your chance for vengeance, but you need to wait."

Naruto was pissed, and the fact that his eyes were still burning wasn't making anything better for him. He faintly heard Neji say something about "Once a dropout, always a dropout." Although Naruto wanted nothing more than to pin Neji's ass to the wall, he knew he'd get another chance. So he reached down, dipped his right hand in Hinata's blood and held it out towards Neji. "You talk big right now, since you're protected, but that won't always be the case. I promise you… revenge." With that, he stalked back to his team placement, all eyes of the Genin and sensei on him.

Sakura and Ino watched him return. "Sakura," began Ino. "Would Naruto-kun really kill a fellow shinobi? I mean, he might be an idiot sometimes, but he never hurt a fly before."

Sakura nodded sadly. "Naruto-kun was shown no love growing up, so he takes family seriously. Plus, I think we're seeing all the rage he's been holding in... all the rage he's ever felt and repressed."

Kakashi vaguely listened in, and nodded sadly. 'Let's hope shy little Hinata pulls through.'

The Brain looked up at his summoner, and waved his arms, motioning to be picked up. Naruto picked up the bag and replaced it on his back. The Brain then thought-spoke "**Watcher.**"

"Later," muttered Naruto.

Over with the Kusa-nin, Karin shivered. "What's wrong?" asked Burei, his delicate features in a frown.

"Ni-sensei," said Karin. "I can feel something from Uzumaki Naruto... it feels dark... angry... vile..."

Haru watched Naruto. "I saw his eyes," the covered shinobi said to his teammates. "They were red with slitted pupils for a moment. Does that mean anything to anyone?"

Ni chuckled. "Looks like Konoha's dirty little secret is becoming a secret no more," she mused. "I wonder how he would feel about an offer we have..."

"What offer?" asked Karin.

"Nothing," said Ni. "Just musing to myself..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside Naruto, Kurama snorted as he felt his power return back to him. "**So,**" he said. "**You've denied yourself my power, in spite of your great rage. I applaud you, human. Still,**" He looked up at the orbs above; the one that was pulsing was glowing a faint blue. "**What is that, I wonder? Something to do with his eyes?**"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The board cycled through the names, until they stopped at _Temari vs. Karin._ "You're up, Karin-chan," said Burei. "Do your best." Karin nodded her thanks and watched her opponent as she walked down the stairs.

The two kunoichi made their way down to the floor. As Hayate started the match and leapt away, the two stared at each other, analyzing each other. Karin rushed Temari and delivered a roundhouse kick which was blocked by Temari's staff. Karin disappeared in a Shunshin and reappeared behind Temari, throwing a trio of senbon at her neck.

Temari ducked under the senbon and swung her staff like a bat at Karin, who jumped backwards and tossed three small balls at Temari which fell short. As soon as the balls hit the ground, they began emitting a pink mist which began to spread. Temari slammed the butt of her staff into the ground, dispersing the mist.

"Perfume?" she asked haughtily. "Did you just try to use perfume on me? This isn't a beauty parlor, girly."

Karin frowned, and rushed Temari, initiating a series of bicycle kicks on the Suna kunoichi, each of which was blocked by her staff. When she dropped to the ground, she drew out six senbon and tossed them at Temari, reasoning that at such a close range, Temari couldn't do what she did before.

It was a good idea, but Temari pushed open a part of her staff, revealing that the staff was actually a large fan. The opened part revealing a purple moon, and blocked the incoming senbon.

"This is the First Moon," said Temari. "When it reaches the Third Moon, this fight is over."

Karin wracked her mind for an answer. 'Dammit, she's a Fuuton user,' she thought. 'That means that my throwing weapons are useless, and so is my poison perfume. What to do, what to do...'

"Not sure on what to do?" asked Temari. "Let me save you the trouble!" She rushed Karin, zooming in and swinging her slightly open fan like a bat, causing a burst of wind to rise up. Karin tossed a kunai above Temari, then switched places with the kunai using Kawarimi no Jutsu. Taking advantage of Temari's surprise, she inhaled, then exhaled a blast of purple mist down on her foe.

Temari smirked and unveiled the Second Moon, swiping at the gas cloud and Karin, dispersing one while the other was thrown backwards, before coming down. Karin, aware that she was fodder if she stayed there, searched for an answer. She saw her kunai, from where it landed after she switched places, and used another Kawarimi to appear on the ground. After giving it some thought, she knew that she had one other recourse.

"I forfeit," she called out. At Hayate's look, she said, "Her Fuuton jutsu blows away my weapons, and I use poison and senbon. Any further fighting would just end badly for me."

Hayate nodded. "Shousa, Temari." Temari smirked, closed her fan, and walked back to her team. Karin did so as well, and was treated to a pat on the back by Burei.

"No worries," he said. "You tried your best, and got stuck with a bad match-up."

Haru sneered at Temari. "Arrogant bitch," he muttered.

A while later, Hayate called the next match: _Gaara vs. Rock Lee_. When Gaara and Lee entered the arena, he began the match. Lee opened up with a Konoha Senpuu, which was deflected by Gaara's sand. The sand then tried to smash itself onto Lee, but dodged it.

Shino remembered the sand as the same that killed the three Ame-nin, and wondered if the same thing would befall Lee. Lee, however, was more energized, and launched into a flurry of punches and kicks.

While Lee was attacking and defending from the sand, Naruto narrowed his eyes and said, "I feel something... dark... and familiar..." He heard the Kyuubi whisper "**Shukaku**" in his head, and shook it. Why did that sound so familiar...?

Gaara had the sand in his gourd as an offensive and defensive weapon. The sand protected him from all Lee's attacks. It was here that Gaara started to feel the bloodlust IT was sending him.

It was also here that everyone found out that Lee was unable in use Ninjutsu at all. But then Gai found him, and molded him into a Taijutsu Specialist.

Gaara's next attack tried to smash Lee into the floor, but Lee had avoided the sand and leapt on top the fingers of the statue. And upon Gai's order of, "Take them off, Lee!", Lee revealed the weights on his ankles.

"That won't mean a damn thing!" called down Temari, confident in her brother's skills.

Lee dropped the weights, which rose up a massive dual dust cloud upon impact, startling the shit out of everyone watching. Lee's speed had increased dramatically; he was able to nearly hit Gaara, but the sand kept blocking. Eventually, he got a hit in.

Gaara was incensed. He was Sabaku no Gaara, the demon of the desert, and everyone feared him. He was _not_ going to be beaten by some tacky kid. So when Lee hit him again, he activated his Suna no Yoroi.

Everyone was shocked to see Gaara in this state, including the team from Suna. Lee saw that he had no choice, so he unwrapped his bandages, and rushed around Gaara in a circle. Then with a kick, Gaara was sent airborne. Lee wrapped his bandages around Gaara, then spun. Used centrifugal force, he smashed Gaara into the ground, shouting, "OMOTE RENGE!"

Lee dropped to the ground, having jumped before absolute impact. Gaara's cracked form lay in the crater that the Omote Renge had caused. Certain that he had the match, Lee, among everyone else, was shocked to see Gaara's face crumble away to reveal nothing.

An empty shell.

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Lee spun around to see Gaara rise up from the sand, grinning like a madman. Putting his hands into the Ram Seal, he used the sand to toss Lee around. At this point, Lee saw no other choice. He was out to prove that he was a genius of hard work, and he wasn't about to let Gaara take that away from him.

So he started to open THEM.

Kakashi was shocked and dismayed to learn that Rock Lee knew the Ura Renge, and that he could open five of the Hachimon (4). Revealing his Sharingan, he explained that the Eight Inner Gates were limiters on the human body, and to open them would release the body from all inhibitions. But should one have all Gates open, in exchange for near god-like power, the person would die.

Lee's hair rose, his pupils disappeared, and his skin turned red as he opened the Third Gate, Seimon. Opening the Fourth Gate, Shoumon, his power increased dramatically, and he rushed Gaara, shattering the floor that he ran on. The force of him hitting Gaara was so great, everyone had to shield their faces from the rubble and dust.

Gaara found himself airborne again, but this time, his armor started coming off. Lee was nothing but a blur, and Gaara was being tossed around like a carcass. Lee opened the fifth Gate, Tomon, and rushed Gaara again. Punching Gaara, Gaara was forced back, but snagged on one of the bandages Lee held. Pulling Gaara towards him, Lee did his final move.

"URA RENGE!"

The force of the move was equal to a small explosion. Dust went everywhere, forcing everyone to cover their faces once more. Not of the Genin had seen what had happened, but Kakashi and Gai were the only ones with the Genin that did; Kakashi due to his Sharingan, and Gai due to his Taijutsu training. Unfortunately, Gaara had more tricks up his sleeves.

Gaara had surprised everyone by revealing that his gourd was made of sand the instant before he hit the ground. Lee, having closed the gates in the air, hit the ground with a thud and rolled away from the crater. Everyone thought for sure that that did Gaara in.

Alas, it was not to be. Gaara was in the crater all right, but the sand that was his gourd had cushioned the impact. Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, Gaara raised his hand from his spot on the ground, but with great effort. His sand left him to wrap around the weakened Lee's left arm and leg. Even though Lee tried to move, he was still in pain from using the Lotus.

"Sabaku Sousou!"

Gaara's sand crushed Lee's left arm and leg, and Lee let out a scream of pain. But Gaara didn't stop as his prey fell to the ground. He wanted to kill Lee, Hayate be damned. But before Hayate could step in, Gai had dispelled the sand that headed for Lee's body. The morose look on Gai's face brought up unwanted memories in Gaara; his feminine uncle that tried to kill him, his scheming father who tried to assassinate him, his younger innocent self, and his fearful brother and sister.

Clutching his head in pain, he hissed, "Why are you helping him…?" To which Gai answered, "He's… he's my precious subordinate."

The sand on the ground and Gaara's Suna no Yoroi formed on his back to make the gourd, as Gaara stalked away, and Hayate began to announce the winner. And yet…

Lee got up. He had his left arm and leg crushed, had opened five of the eight gates, and performed the Lotus techniques. By all accounts, he shouldn't have been able to stand up, but there he was. When it hit that he was unconscious, Gai was ready to break down right there. Lee was out to prove that hard work could defeat genius, even at the cost of his body.

"Shousa, Gaara," said Hayate, but his pronouncement basically went ignored by all except Gaara. Sakura tried to aid Lee, but Kakashi told her not to, saying that her presence would only hurt Lee, that it would make it harder on him.

Temari confidently said, "There's no one who can beat our Gaara," to which Haru, who was standing nearby with his team replied, "He almost did, and not everything is set in stone. Even your mighty Sabaku no Gaara… can be beaten."

Other than that, Naruto was the only other Genin who went down, passing a glare at Gaara as he ran past, towards Gai and Lee. While two medics placed Lee on the stretcher, the other one took Gai aside and explained Lee's injuries. Between the bone fractures and the torn muscles, that would have been okay to know that they would take some time to heal. But when the damage to his left arm and leg were brought up, Gai faced the prospect of Lee forfeiting his ability to become a shinobi ever again.

When the medics started to take him out, Naruto yelled at them, "What's fuzzy-brows supposed to do when he finds out!? Can't something be done!?"

When he was ready to chase down the medic-nins, Kakashi appeared behind him. "Calm down, Naruto."

"Demo, Kakashi-sensei…!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not he wanted to fight the Hyuuga or the Uchiha as much as he had hoped," said Kakashi, his piercing brown eyes watching Gaara used the Suna Shunshin to get back to his team. "In fact, that's probably what caused this incident. To make those wishes come true, he used a self-damaging technique to try and win, and look at the result. He tried to abide by the wordless promise he made Neji, Sasuke, and even you. He tried to head for the stage so that he could battle all three of you." With his hand on Naruto's head, he finished with, "Don't forget that."

After making his peace with Gai, Gai and Kakashi used Shunshin to get back to their respective place, with Naruto running up the stairs, Hayate began the next match.

"All right, Kinuta Dosu, Akamichi Chouji, step up."

Dosu was engrossed in his own thoughts, as he came into the arena. 'I need to advance into the final matches and fight Sasuke-kun. Otherwise, I won't be able to meet your expectations, Orochimaru-sama. I've got a fair idea of what's going on, though. You got to Sasuke-kun before us, and gave him the Juuin Fuuin instead of killing him.' Thinking about his teammates, he concluded, 'We were just pawns to test Sasuke-kun's power. Orochimaru-sama doesn't want Sasuke-kun's life, he want the whole Sasuke-kun.'

To be blunt, this was one of the shortest matches in the Prelims. Chouji opened up with Ninpou: Baika no Jutsu, and then converted it to his Meat Tank. All Dosu did was move around a bit, then endeavored to make Chouji hit the wall. When Chouji was stuck, Dosu punched Chouji in the back with his Melody Arm, then flicked his Melody Device. Chouji came out of that unconscious and drooling.

"About 70 percent of the human body is made of water, and water conducts sound and electricity," said Dosu as he was announced the winner. As the medics attended Chouji, Dosu thought, '… Orochimaru, I will prove that I am NOT just some test subject.'

'Thank Kami-sama, it's finally over,' thought Hayate, as he coughed a little.

'The Main Matches can finally begin,' thought Sandaime.

"Well, that concludes the Preliminary Matches," said Hayate. "The person who passes on automatically is Aburame Shino. To the rest of you who fought and made it to the third part of the Chuunin Exam… all but one are here, so congratulations."

Shino dropped his head in sorry. "I didn't get to fight," he muttered. Kurenai patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll be able to show want you can do later."

A moment later, the match winners had assembled in the remains of the arena under the call of Hayate. Sakura surveyed the winners. There was Naruto, of course, and Shikamaru, Shino, and Neji. With Sasuke missing, that accounted for Konoha, and there were the two from Suna, Gaara and Temari. Then there were the two Kusa-nin, Haru and Burei, and finally, there was the lone Oto-nin, Dosu. Turning to Kakashi, she started asking him about Sasuke, but Kakashi said, "I'm not sure about the details, but don't worry about him." Thinking back to the Fuuja Houin (Barrier Seal), he silently hoped it would be enough. 'It's all up to him now.'

"Sakura," he said, "I need to leave, so give me details on the main matches later." With that, he used Shunshin and left her saying, "Okay."

Down below, Sandaime tilted his hat and said, "I will now begin the explanation for the main matches."

'Finally,' thought Naruto, who had gotten tired of waiting.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Outside, two figures met. One was Kabuto, and he was kneeling in front of his master, who he held true allegiance to. By now, his face had completely healed, leaving naught but a bitter memory.

"The preliminary matches have concluded, and now they're about to begin the main matches," said he said.

Orochimaru nodded faintly, gazing at a trio of birds. "This village… no, this country as become soft… too used to peace. The rest of the shinobi nations are busy increasing their military strength."

Nodding his head, Kabuto asked, "Do you think you'll be able to kill him?"

Catching on, Orochimaru grinned a little. "The old geezer? Yeah… but I don't think it'll be much fun to kill him now."

"Looks to me like you're hesitating," said Kabuto, pushing up his glasses. At Orochimaru's glare, he continued. "I mean, the different shinobi villages are mobilizing for conflict, and Otogakure is one of them. The old man is the bullet, Uchiha Sasuke is the trigger, and you are the gun, are you not?"

"You're so observant… you even startle me," said Orochimaru.

"But why did you need those other three?" asked Kabuto, referring to Dosu, Zaku, and Kin.

"They were inconsequential," said Orochimaru. "Those three have outlived their usefulness, and now only serve one purpose: Fodder." Here he grinned even more. "But if you're so eager to prove your usefulness, there's one thing I must ask you to do."

At Kabuto's look, he said. "Kill Uchiha Sasuke."

Kabuto almost faltered. "But I thought…"

"The Juuin Fuuin I gave Sasuke-kun has been sealed by Kakashi. Even though that doesn't matter, if the darkness in Sasuke-kun's heart disappears… I need you to abduct him."

Kabuto narrowed his eyes. "You seem in a hurry."

"It's that someone has recently caught my attention… Uzumaki Naruto."

"What, the Kyuubi brat?"

"Yeah. Sasuke-kun is an avatar of vengeance that cannot die until he kills his brother, and fulfilled his ambition. When he fought me in the Forest of Death, he engaged me without fear of death, even when he knew he couldn't win. I thought he was a more careful type of person." Gazing into the sky, he added, "According to the info of you gave me, the Kyuubi brat has probably changed his heart and goal." Licking his lips, he concluded, "Those two must be separated, if I am to dye Sasuke-kun _my_ color."

Kabuto narrowed his eyes, then turned away, intent on proving his worth.

"Kabuto-kun… if you intend to stop me… then kill Sasuke _now_."

Kabuto was startled by this. Granted Orochimaru didn't scare him, but those eyes were unnerving.

"You are strong, but only as strong as Kakashi-kun, therefore, not strong enough to end my life."

Kabuto was now locked in a staring match with his master. He slightly relaxed when Orochimaru grinned and said, "Just kidding. You can go now… I trust you wholeheartedly."

When Kabuto used his Shunshin to leave, Orochimaru was somewhat intrigued by his subordinate. 'That look on his face… I can never tell what he's thinking.'

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Your matches will be shown in front of everyone," said Sandaime. "We wish for all of you to show off your prowess as the representative of your country. Therefore, the main matches will take place in one month."

When Shikamaru voiced the confusion everyone had on the time period, Sandaime continued. "The month given is the time that should be used for the necessary preparations. In other words, we're going to announce to the daimyos and shinobi leaders that the preliminaries are over. In addition, the month will also give you time to make your own preparations."

Temari, annoyed with the anecdotes and metaphors Sandaime was giving out, asked, "What do you mean?"

"You will have time to analyze the information you gathered from the preliminaries. As I said before, the preliminaries were equal to actual combat situations, with each individual knowing nothing of their opponent."

Many thoughts went through the heads of the Genin, such as 'I didn't expect him to use sand as a weapon,' from Shikamaru, and 'And that's the way it's gonna stay… for now,' from Naruto.

"But the main matches won't be like that. There are some here who have used their full potential here, but the month given will help you improve."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kabuto had gotten into the hospital and slain the three ANBU in Sasuke's room. "It is… unfortunate that fate smiled down on both of us," said he to the unconscious Sasuke. 'He is young, but with a dark heart at his age. He would use the power given to him by Orochimaru-sama to do with what he will.' Taking a scalpel, he put it up to Sasuke's neck…

…Then flung it at Kakashi, who stood in the doorway and caught it. "Excellent, Kakashi-kun. A word of advice: Have at least ten ANBU stationed next time."

Kakashi was visibly shaken by the dead ANBU he had stationed. "Kabuto," he asked, "Why did you try to kill Sasuke? Depending on your answer, I might have to take you to Ibiki. Well, after Mikoto has a go at you."

"Ibiki doesn't scare me, Kakashi," said Kabuto, turning to face the silver-haired Jounin. "Neither does the Hijosei (5). This is just a … change of hands. Shinobi are tools, are we not? And what business of yours is if I choose to change hands?"

"Are you connected to Orochimaru?"

"You might not be able to prove that if you capture me now, would you?"

"Just answer the damn question."

Long story short: Kabuto pulled out a curved kunai and held it to Sasuke's throat, while Kakashi pulled his own kunai out. One twitch from Kabuto was all Kakashi needed, and he rushed the faux Genin, knocking him to the ground, while watching one of the ANBU rise up and run for the door, only to discover…

"Kage Bunshin?" The ANBU found himself between two Kakashi's. But then, another ANBU on the floor threw some kunai at the window and jumped. Kakashi didn't expect that, so when the ANBU between him and his clone fell to the ground, he ran to the window.

The ANBU below him was freefalling, and he removed the mask to reveal Yakushi Kabuto, smirking at the gaping Copy-nin.

"Damn," growled Kakashi as Kabuto disappeared into the trees, and his Kage Bunshin poofed into smoke. He went to inspect the fake Kabuto, only to discover that the skin on Kabuto was stitched at the back of the face. "He erased his odor… muted his heartbeat… impersonated one of the ANBU he killed, and kept an escape route open." Kakashi growled at his own weakness. "A guy like that working for Orochimaru… I wouldn't be able to kill him either, at the state I'm in."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Sandaime had that odd gleam in his eye, and Naruto didn't like it at all. True to form, Sandaime confirmed it with, "Before I let you all go, there is something important we must do before the main matches. Take a piece of paper from Anko as she comes by you."

"I'll walk, so take it in turns," said she.

After she passed them out, Ibiki asked if everyone got one, then to say what number they picked up. Dosu got 10, Naruto got 7, Temari got 2, Haru got 9, Gaara got 3, Burei got 5, Shikamaru got 1, Neji got 8, and Shino got 6. Marking down Sasuke as 4, Sandaime told them the numbers meant a tournament-style match-up, which Ibiki then showed them.

The first bracket was _Nara Shikamaru_ vs. _Temari_, the second bracket read,_ Gaara _vs. _Uchiha Sasuke_. The third bracket said _Burei_ vs. _Aburame Shino_, the fourth bracket read _Uzumaki Naruto_ vs. _Hyuuga Neji_, and the final bracket read _Haru _vs. _Kinuta Dosu_.

The genin had their own thoughts at the match-ups:

'Aw, dammit. Why do I have to go first?'

'What? It's just a tournament?'

'Uchiha Sasuke…'

'… Hmmm… an unknown.'

'…This will require research.'

'Looks like my match comes late in the game.'

'Hyuuga Neji, eh? He better pray for mercy, because he won't get any from me…'

'...'

Sandaime then explained that even though the matches were in a tournament style, the possibility of Chuunins would depend on the rating of the judges, who would be the Kazekage, the daimyos, Sandaime himself, and the head shinobi. He said that even if some were to loose in their first round, there would still be a chance of them becoming Chuunin if their match was found satisfactory. But not everyone would become Chuunin, because winning the matches would depend on the contestants showing off their skills.

"That is all," concluded Sandaime. "We are adjourned until next month."

xxxxxxxxxxx

The first thing Naruto did after leaving the forest was go to the hospital and ask where Hyuuga Hinata's room was. But the receptionist said that visiting hours were over.

"Bull," said Naruto, clearly annoyed at the antics of this woman. He knew her as one of the people here who hated him with a vengeance. "Visiting hours are over at 9PM, and its 6PM right now."

"Visiting hours have changed, due to the presence of the exams," she said, whereupon Naruto sneezed rather loudly.

"Sorry," he said, wiping his nose on his sleeve, "I'm allergic to bullshit."

"Listen here, you little shi…"

"No, you listen here lady," he growled his hands on the desk. "I am not in the best of moods right now, and only the fact that this is a hospital is keeping me from raising all kinds of hell." The Brain poked its head out of the bag and hissed at her.

"No animals allowed," she sneered.

"Summon, not a generic animal," he retorted. "You insult him."

"Naruto, leave the receptionist alone," said Kakashi as he appeared.

"Then tell her to let me see Hinata-chan," said Naruto. "Our job is to save these people, and the least they can do is indulge us within reason."

"He does have a point," said Kakashi, turning to the reddening receptionist. "Our jobs are to keep you safe. What's wrong with letting the kid see his lady friend?"

"Orders from her family, for one," said the receptionist. "No one outside of the Hyuuga clan is allowed to see her at present."

"I find that hard to believe," came a soft voice from behind. Naruto and Kakashi turned to see Uchiha Mikoto in a dark grey kimono with white trimmings. "Hiashi-san barely bothers to go anywhere besides the Hyuuga compound or the Hokage Tower."

"I-It wasn't him, Mikoto-sama," stammered the receptionist at the out-of-hand situation. "It came from a Hyuuga with light hair and a bandana."

"Sounds like Kou-san," mused Mikoto, having seen the man about the village with Hinata in her youth.

Everyone's attention was drawn to a rush of activity as two doctors ran down the hall. "Hiashi-sama will murder us if she dies!" one said as they passed.

Naruto went pale. He was able to pick up that Hiashi was Hinata's father, so if the two doctors were running scared, then that meant...

"No," he whispered, running after them, and ignoring the calls of the receptionist. He found them at a room where they were crowded around a bed harboring a familiar bluenette, along with a machine that was giving off an ominous steady tone.

"What happened?" asked one of the doctors.

"She suffered a Myocardial Infarction," said another. "She had an abnormal heartbeat, then it stopped. We managed to get it started again with CPR, but she's flatlined again."

"Shit!" cursed another doctor. "Where's the Defibrillator?"

"Down the hallway," said another. "We're losing her!"

Naruto pushed his way through the doctors. "Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan, don't you do this to me!"

"Get him out of here!" yelled a doctor, and two doctors grabbed him by his shoulders and began pulling him away. "Let me go!" yelled Naruto.

"We know what we're doing," said the one on the right, while the one on the left yelled out, "Where's that damn Defibrillator!?"

"Here!" came a voice, and a nurse pushed her way through. Tearing open Hinata's hospital gown, a doctor injected a stimulant into her IV, charged the Defibrillator pads together, and placed the Defibrillator pads on her barely-covered chest, which Naruto noted idly was much bigger than he thought. "Clear!" she called, and Hinata jerked at the shock ran through.

Nothing.

"Clear!" she called again, setting off the Defibrillator. Hinata jerked again.

Still nothing.

"Third time's the charm," muttered the doctor and charged the pads. "Clear!" she called, and set it off. Hinata jerked again.

The machine continued its steady tone.

"Again," said the doctor, to the same result. No pulse.

The doctor sighed. "Call it," she muttered. Another doctor sighed and said, "Time of Death; 1804 hrs."

"NO!" came the yell as Naruto elbowed the two doctors trying to pull him away. "Don't you do this to me!" he growled as started CPR.

"Why is he still here?" said the female doctor. "Get him out of here, and send someone to inform Hiashi-sama."

"She's dead, boy," said another, trying to pull Naruto away. "Accept it."

"No!" he growled. "We just found each other! I'm not letting her die!" He continued the chest compressions, ignoring the doctors. "Fight, dammit!" said Naruto, tears going down his eyes. "You took on Neji, you had him on the ropes, you can do this! Fight, damn you! FIGHT!"

Nothing.

"Naruto..." said Kakashi, a gentle hand on his shoulder. "She's gone."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

(AN: I had contemplated ending the chapter here, but I realized that that would make me a grade-A jerkass. Plus, a certain blonde was giving me the evil eye... literally. So, on with the show!)

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinata sighed, as she opening her eyes. She was confused, as everything looked to be on an angle. "Where... am I?" she asked. She looked around, noting that she was in a white room. She also noticed that she wasn't alone. A woman held her head in her lap, and was stroking her hair.

"You're safe, my little sunny place," came a soft voice from above her. She looked up to see a woman with fair skin, accompanied with long dark eggplant-colored hair slightly past her waist and side bangs framing her face down to her shoulders, clad in a white kimono. She smiled a gentle smile as Hinata wrapped her arms around her, crying out "Kaa-san! I've missed you!"

"And I you, my sweet little girl," said Hyuuga Hikari, mother of Hinata and Hanabi.

"Is this a dream?" asked Hinata.

"Yes... and no..." said Hikari. "You are the place between the physical world and the spiritual world. You have a choice to make, my sunny place." She pointed to a window, and Hinata walked to it. What she saw... was indescribable. As she was bathed in the light, she felt at peace. No fear, no sadness, no sorrow. It was like being inside of joy.

"Where...?"

"That is Paradise," said Hikari. "The Pure Land. It is your choice to go or not."

"D-Do you live there?"

"Yes," she said. "A good life gives you an eternal reward. You, my daughter, have lived a good life, and a place is ready for you."

"_Don't you do this to me!_"

"What was that?" Hinata asked, looking around. Was it just her, or did it get a bit darker?

"Someone calling," said Hikari, looking at her daughter. "Someone in the physical world. Someone who... you left behind?"

Her first thought was Hanabi, her sister, who she still loved, despite everything that had been forced on the two of them, and despite the fact that the two of them hadn't spoken in several weeks. Her next thought was poor Kou-san, who she felt was more of a father than her birth father. Then came...

"Naruto-kun?" she whispered.

"_Fight, dammit!_"

The room rumbled a little and grew a bit darker. Now she remembered what had happened before she awoke with her mother. Pain in her chest, and then... "I'm dead," she murmured. She walked over to another window, a dark window.

"That is the way back to the physical world," said Hikari, saddened. "If you go now, you won't be able to come back to the Pure World until much, much later. After a great deal of suffering and pain."

Hinata was caught between a quandary. Did she return to the real world or go with her mother to the Pure World? What was the right choice? Joy immediately, or Joy after suffering?

"_FIGHT!_"

"Hinata?"

Hinata hugged her mother. "Okaa-san, I love you dearly, and I would love nothing more than to go with you. I am ready to go to the Pure World." She withdrew. "But not today. There... there is still something I have to do."

Hikari smiled and kissed her daughter on the forehead as the room grew darker. "You are a wonder, my daughter. A lioness like myself. I await you when you return."

As the room grew darker, Hinata hugged her mother, taking comfort in her presence as the shadows consumed them both.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kakashi was pulling Naruto away with the help of a doctor, when Hinata let out a gasp. The heart monitor began beeping as her heartbeat resumed, and her eyes fluttered. The doctors were aghast, as her chest rose and fell.

"That... that's impossible," said the nurse who brought in the Defibrillator. The female doctor in charge turned to the shocked Naruto and said, "She was dead for five minutes. You are the luckiest person on the planet to bring someone back from the dead medically."

Naruto shook his head and approached Hinata slowly. "Hinata-chan?"

Hinata slowly opened her eyes and wheezed out, "Na...ruto...kun..."

Naruto was about to hug her when the female doctor grabbed his collar. "Whoa there," she said. "She's still weak. Now you and everyone else need to leave so I can take care of my patient."

Naruto nodded and walked out with Kakashi. They found Mikoto outside the door, a bemused look on her face. "What?" asked Naruto.

"Nothing," she said. "You have a keeper there, Naruto-kun. Don't do anything to ruin what the two of you have."

"We were building up to have something," said Naruto. "She told me she liked me, I told her I didn't know her well enough to like her back, but I was willing to get to know her so we could have a relationship with some meaning, not one based off of lust."

"Ah, the words of a romantic," sighed Mikoto, her thoughts going to Fugaku and Kushina. The two of them had said things along those lines long ago. "If only some men were like you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto snorted. "Barely anyone likes me here. I've just resolved not to worry about it. But if someone does something to someone I know just to get to me, then there will be a reckoning."

"Speaking of a reckoning," said Kakashi. "I need to train Sasuke in his Lightning Chakra, Mikoto-sama."

"What about me?" asked Naruto. "Whose gonna train me?"

"I meant when Sasuke recovers," said Kakashi. "I'm not going to abandon my students without a good reason. For example, at some point, I will need to train him alongside Mikoto-sama with his Sharingan, but before that time, I can work with you and Sakura on your elements and Water Walking."

Naruto grinned. "Well, I understand that. So when will Sasuke recover?"

"Yes, Kakashi, it was nice of you to not tell me what happened to my son. So when will he be better?" asked Mikoto, smiling a bit too sweetly. Kakashi could almost see something forming behind her, reminiscent of Zabuza's final run... like a fiery saber-tooth tiger fused with a woman. Evidently Naruto could see it too, considering he was backing up slowly.

"I-In a few days, M-Mikoto-sama," stuttered Kakashi sweat-dropping. "He got into a nasty fight in the forest with O-Orochimaru." He looked to Naruto for help.

"Y-Yeah," added Naruto. "W-We drove him away, b-but he gave Sasuke a hickey."

"I sealed it up, so now he's just recovering," finished Kakashi.

Mikoto smiled, and the image disappeared. "Good boys. Now, take me to my son, Kakashi." Before Kakashi could say anything, she grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hallway.

"Bye Sensei," called Naruto, before walking out of the hospital and heading home. The Brain, who had been quiet the whole time, stuck its head out of the bag and asked, "**Second mate?**"

"What? No!" he said, both eyebrows raised. "As hot as she is, she's still Sasuke's mom! Plus, I'm still working on building a relationship with Hinata."

The Brain let out a hissing growl and ducked back in the bag. Naruto took that as the Brain frowning over a lost battle. As he walked down the street, the lights of Konoha began to come on as the sun set. He looked around to see daytime vendors closing up their shops for the night and the nighttime vendors coming out.

He heard a snort and looked to the left to see a civilian couple glaring at him, the woman with her nose upturned and the man with arm around her. Naruto stonily gazed back at them and kept walking. If they wanted to stew in their hate, he'd let them. Just as long as they left him alone.

At length, he found his way to Ichiraku Ramen, and ordered four bowls of chicken ramen. When it arrived, he pulled out the Brain from his bag. "Here you go, buddy," he said, pushing a bowl towards him. "Dinner of champions."

The Brain sniffed the bowl and hissed, likely in disgust. "**Want meat.**"

"No animals at the table, Naruto," said Teuchi, the runner of the establishment.

"Summon, Teuchi-ji-san," said Naruto. "And do you have any meat?"

Teuchi shook his head and grabbed some from his fridge. "How do you want it?"

"That's fine the way it is," said Naruto. When Teuchi gave it to him confused, he held it in front of the Brain, who grabbed it with it with his claws and split its lower beak in half, revealing mouthparts like a caterpillars. As it devoured the meat, Naruto sat there, playing with his ramen. "How do you do it?" he asked, at length.

"Hm?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say that about 85% of the people in this village hate me. I appreciate everything that you and Ayame-nee-chan have done for me, but I ask... why? How did you accept me for me, and how do you stand the naysayers and biters?"

"There is a saying," said Teuchi, cleaning his hands. "'Evil prevails when good men do nothing'. So many people have spent their time trying to make you feel unwelcome thanks to preconceived notions that they never sought to know the real you... that they never tried to prove that you were... you-know-what. That group of people stirred up the masses, and the result is what you have professed." He sighed. "Not many people know this, but I was once a shinobi."

Naruto was shocked. "You were?"

"Oh my, yes," said Teuchi. "I fought in the Third Shinobi War, alongside so many others. But when my wife died in childbirth, I retired to take care of my precious little Ayame. I had a passion for cooking, so I opened up this ramen stand, and been doing it since."

"Awesome, but what... oh."

"Yes," said Teuchi, nodding at Naruto's comprehension. "Unlike the idiots that never studied Fuuin Jutsu, I have a rudimentary knowledge of it. I can safely say that I'm smart enough to know the difference between the kunai and the scroll, as the saying goes." He grinned. "The Yondaime declared you to be a hero, Naruto, and who am I to ignore the man who save us from the wrath of the Kyuubi? I aim to go to my afterlife with a clear conscious knowing that I have done something good with my life."

"You're a better man than most," said Naruto, finishing off his ramen, and leaving his payment on the table. "Thanks for the ramen, ji-san." He picked up the Brain and made the walk back to his apartment, unaware that he was being watched.

Around the corner was Karin, who had been listening to his talk with the old man. She was wrestling with the notion of approaching him at the food stand, but she was wary because of the evil feeling she got from him back during the preliminaries. Well, reading in between the lines when the two were talking, she now knew why. Konoha had turned one of her family into those poor hated and hate-filled beings known as Jinchuuriki, with Naruto being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

She sighed. Family. It was a foreign concept to her, but something that she had yearned for, ever since her parents were killed. She watched him walk away, and made the choice to follow him, just to see where he lived so she could find him later.

At length, Naruto made it back to his apartment complex... or at least where it was supposed to be. He was standing in front of an open steel gate that had a red spiral above the entrance. Going around the apartment building was a nine-foot-tall dark stone wall with spikes jutting upwards, outwards, and inwards at the top. "What the hell is this!?" he yelled.

"Welcome back, little cousin," called Gekidou as he came around a corner. "How do you like what we've done to the place?"

"How do I like it? I'd like it, but this is gonna get me in trouble!" exclaimed Naruto. "I can't tell anyone about us, remember?"

"Not quite," said Geiruudou, coming out of the gate. "We were told that we could not discuss the rebirth of our family with anyone who's unapproved. We are doing no such thing, merely exercising our right to proclaim our allegiance to our clan and our home."

"But what about what I want?" asked Naruto. He was aware that he was sounding like a child, but he was trying to be cautious. "I mean, I'm happy and all that I have a family now, but why would you do this? I mean, this makes me feel like I'm going to be a prisoner."

"You're not a prisoner, you're too exposed to your enemies within this village," said Geiruudou, crossing his arms. "We found... tasteless graffiti outside the builiding. You did not tell us that you were despised."

"It didn't matter, and it doesn't matter now," said Naruto. "In any case, I was only gone for five days. How did you do all this? And won't the Hokage get annoyed at this?"

"We both have two elemental natures, one of which is Earth," said Gekidou. "That was child's play. The hard part was getting the gate. After that, it was a matter of using Fuuin Jutsu to reinforce the walls. Plus, the Hokage doesn't own this building, some guy named Jiraiya does. So," he motioned them all into the gate. "How did you do?"

"Well, I passed the written exam, the Forest of Death, and the Preliminaries, so I'm in the Final Part, which is supposed to be in front of everyone like a tournament."

"Good for you!" crowed Gekidou. "Who are you fighting?"

"Hyuuga Neji," said Naruto, his mood soured.

"What happened?" asked Geiruudou, frowning. "I can read it in your emotions, he did something to make you angry."

"He tried to kill Hinata-chan," said Naruto. "She died at the hospital, but I was able to bring her back."

The two brothers looked at each other. "Sounds like you're sweet on the girl," said Gekidou. "When can we commence negotations with her family?"

"Hold up!" said Naruto, his hands up. "That's going way too fast. Me and Hinata agreed that we would get to know each other first, and date before moving into anything permanent."

"That's well and good," said Geiruudou. "I do believe, however, that it is time for you to get some rest. You have a long day ahead, if you hope to defeat your opponent."

"The next part begins in a month," said Naruto, walking with Gekidou. "I've got plenty of time to train."

"More the reason," said Gekidou. As he and Naruto walked to their respective apartments, Geiruudou watched them as Naga lazily looked in the other direction. "You are welcome to join us anytime," said Geiruudou out loud. "We extend the hand of family, but the choice is yours to accept." That said, he walked into the gate and closed the doors for the night. The person his short speech was directed to, Karin, appeared from the tree she was hiding behind. She sighed sadly. She wanted to join, but she was still under a contract, of sorts.

She walked back to the hotel that the foreigners were given to stay at for the Chuunin Exams, and made her way up to her team's room. As she walked in, she jumped as Haru suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Where were you?" he asked.

"Sightseeing," she said, closing the door. "Where's Burei and Ni-sensei?"

"Off doing their own thing," said Haru. "But what do you think you're doing?" At Karin's raised eyebrow, he said, "Your loyalty is to Kusagakure, and no two-toned Konoha-nin is going to change that."

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Karin hotly.

Haru was in her face. "You don't think I didn't notice how you were looking at him? You got the hots for him, don't you?" Karin was about to tell him how he had it all wrong, how Naruto was her cousin, though she didn't know how close or distant, but Haru raised a gloved hand. "I don't care. I'm not saying this because I like you or anything. I'm saying this because you know as well as I that we are here to show our superiority over the careless and carefree main villages."

"How can I do that?" asked Karin, getting annoyed. "I lost my match, remember?"

"I remember," said Haru, crossing his arms. "I also remember that it was the main villages that made us into what we are today." Karin could sense the anger rolling off of her teammate. "We both lost our homes and families to them, and what do they care? We were just collateral damage." He turned around walked to the balcony. "When I fight the Uzumaki, I'm going to decimate him. Then I will show that we are nothing to trifle with."

Karin knew that it would be useless to try to talk to Haru now. Still, he had a point. In every war, it was always the minor countries and villages that were taking the blows. Hardly ever the main villages. She sighed, and decided that she would sleep on her decisions.

Haru glared out at the Konoha nightline. "Damned village," he growled. "Damn Konoha-nin. Damn them for my loss. I WILL show you the kind of..."

"Who are you talking to?" asked Burei, looking down from his vantage point on the wall above the balcony.

"I'm venting," said Haru, looking up. "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to give you a little something," said Burei, tossing Haru a scroll. "The designs for a new sword. I'd do it myself, but swords aren't my style."

"Lazy bastard," growled Haru. He looked down at the scroll in his hands. "Still, my appreciation is given. But how am I supposed to forge the damned thing? I doubt that I can get into any of the stores that actually sell supplies here."

"You just leave that to me," said Burei, his eyes filled with mirth.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day found Naruto and Sakura at the Konoha Hot Springs. "Sensei, why are we here?" asked Sakura. "More to the point, why am I here? I didn't win my match."

"I know," said Kakashi. "I just thought it was time for you to know more chakra control exercises, namely water walking."

"Is that anything like tree walking?" asked Naruto.

"Kind of," said Kakashi, walking onto a steaming pool of water. "The difference between water walking and tree walking is that with tree walking, you have to put down a set amount. Water walking is different, in that you need to continuously put out a certain amount in order to float." He motioned to the two of them. "Try it out."

The two Genin walked over to a steaming pool, and stood on the water, remembering the tree walking exercise. Unfortunately, they both did not realize that water is a lot more temperamental than trees. So... "HOLY FUCK THAT'S HOT!" screamed Naruto, as he flailed up. The Brain shrieked and jumped out of the wet bag and onto the rocks where it lay hissing. "**Water bad!**" it thought-spoke. "**Water bad!**"

"Sensei, what the hell is wrong with you!?" cried Sakura. "Are you trying to cook us?"

"Nope," said Kakashi, an eye smile on his face. "Just giving you incentive. If you don't get the exercise, you'll end up boiled. So the goal is to get the amount down and avoid being burned."

Over the next couple of minutes, Sakura was the first to get it down, with Naruto struggling behind. Kakashi watched them both from behind the pages of his ever-present book. "Sensei," said Sakura, her right eye twitching. "Do you have to read that in front of us?"

"I wanna know what happens now, instead of waiting until later," said Kakashi. He was disturbed by a yelp from Naruto as he tried to yell out "Look!"

Sakura looked over to where Naruto was pointing, to see a giggling white-haired man with a ponytail sitting in front of the fence. "Pervert!" yelled Sakura as she rushed the man, intent on striking him down.

The white-haired man turned around and put his right hand into the half-Ram Seal. There was a puff of smoke, and the man was suddenly sitting on an orange man-sized toad. Kakashi realized too late who this was, as the toad's tongue wrapped around Sakura's waist, then threw her into Naruto, causing the two of them to fall into the boiling water.

"Don't make such a ruckus," said the man. "What's going to happen if I get caught?" Of course, when he heard the womanly screams inside the springs, the old man angrily rounded on the young teens, and cried, "Dammit, they found out I was peeking!"

The two Genin pulled themselves out of the water. "Hey!" shouted Sakura. "Who the hell do you are!?"

The old man, who looked like a kabuki dancer, had a horned hitai-ate that had the kanji Abura (Oil), and thin red lines going down his eyes like tears. He then went into a weird dance. "Glad you asked! I am Mount Myouboku's Gama-Sennin! Woman love me and men want to be me! I am the one, the only, the great and powerful Jiraiya-sama!"

"Jiraiya-sama!" said Kakashi, kneeling before him. "When did you get back?"

"You know him?" asked Sakura.

Kakashi nodded. "He's the writer of the greatest story series ever written." He held up his book.

Jiraiya grinned and dispelled his toad. "Always nice to find a fan," he said, pulling out a pen. "Autograph?"

"That's a perverted book!" yelled Sakura. "And what the hell are you doing peeking into the female baths?!"

"That's my data gathering," said Jiraiya. "I get inspiration from peeking to write better novels."

Naruto, who had been quiet until this point, spoke up. "Wait a minute, would you happen to own an apartment complex?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Thus far, the only one who lives there is someone named Uzumaki Naruto."

"Not anymore!" grinned Naruto. "I'm Naruto, and my cousins live there now. It's our place now."

Jiraiya's left eye twitched. "Horseshit," he said. "I've been looking all around for Uzumaki, and I haven't found any."

Minutes later would find Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Sakura gaping at the now Uzumaki compound. "What the hell!?" yelled Jiraiya. "How could Sarutobi-sensei let this happen!?"

"Through us," said Geiruudou, walking outside. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Jiraiya of the Sannin," he said, his right eyebrow raised. "We have much to discuss."

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(1) Suiton: Suihashira no Jutsu = Water Release: Water Pillar Technique

(2) Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu = Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique

(3) Jumonji Yari = cross-shaped spear, also called magari yari (curved spear); looks something similar to a trident or partisan and brandished a pair of curved blades around its central lance

(4) Hachimon = The Eight Gates. The Gates are

Kaimon = Gate of Opening

Kyuumon = Gate of Healing

Seimon = Gate of Life

Shoumon = Gate of Pain

Tomon = Gate of Limit

Keimon = Gate of View

Kyoumon = Gate of Wonder

Shimon = Gate of Death

(5) Hijosei = Fire Lady

Well, just thought that I would end it here, with Jiraiya meeting Geiruudou and Gekidou. Next up, the rest of the training month, and hopefully, some of the matches for the Finals. Just thought that I'd do something with Sakura to show her growth, but couldn't think of a finishing Suiton Jutsu, so I had to pick something that Kakashi knew that was moderate (not the Daibakufu no Suiryuudan) for the chakra cost. Also, what are your thoughts regarding Karin, yay or nay? Keep them reviews coming!


	7. The Path to Power Part IV

Liking how the reviews are turning out, and I thank everyone for their support. Now we get to the month of training, and the beginning of the finals. Now time to answer some reviews:

**Leaf Ranger**; Yes, I am aware it was a bullshit move. Problem was, if Lee won - and I'm not sure how I could make him win believably in the confines of the Chuunin Exams without him killing Gaara and himself - then he would have to fight Sasuke, and we all know that he would wipe the floor with that sorry emo. The matches are the way they are for a reason, and unfortunately, I couldn't figure out a way that would have Lee in the finals, outside of fighting one of the Rookie Nine or Team Kusa. And yes, he WOULD demolish Neji in a matter of seconds.

**Guest (1)**; that is just a glimpse into what had happened with Uzumaki Numenor. And the thing is that right now, the Shouhen are being sneaky about it, namely doing everything while Naruto's asleep, and it is kind of established that young Naruto is a deep sleeper. Of course, you could say that that is a lesson learned by the Shouhen themselves, given that I implied that they actively tried to "protect" Numenor.

**Jackiely**; unfortunately, the plans I have in place will only work if Naruto gets only one summon. I had thought on it, but figured that it might be better to just have Naruto with one set of summons, because that will come into play later.

**wacko12**; this is a rewrite of the original. It has a _slightly_ more realistic look at the Shinobi world, plus a powerful Naruto, though not automatically god-moded. Basically, picks up at Wave Mission, Team 8 gets dragged into it, we meet new Uzumaki, and proceed with Chuunin Exams. Also, Karin might like Naruto, and the NaruHina is not automatically "Despite the fact that we haven't spoken much, we're nuts about each other! Let's have babies!". As much of a NaruHina shipper that I am, I wanted it to be _more_ legit.

**MagicMan**; thank you MagicMan, and I know it was dickish, but there's a reason for it. As for the hints, look around the NarutoVerse, and you'll start to figure them out.

Well, on with the show! I hope you lot enjoy this chapter!

Blah Human dialogue

**Blah** Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 7: The Path To Power - The Chuunin Exams Part 4

Kakashi took the uncomfortable silence to mean that that was his time to take off. "Well, you four seem to have a lot to do," he said, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "I'll just take Sakura and help her with her Doton. Remember your water walking, Naruto!"

Sakura was about to protest when she saw how Kakashi was looking in between her and the other four (Jiraiya, Naruto, Gekidou, and Geiruudou). She nodded slowly, and waved goodbye as she turned with Kakashi.

Those two gone, Jiraiya frowned and said, "Just who are you two supposed to be?"

"I am Uzumaki Geiruudou," said Geiruudou motioning to himself. "This is my brother, Uzumaki Gekidou." He motioned to Gekidou who nodded his head. "We are part of a group of seven... six Uzumaki scouring the lands, searching for other members of our family. We have found three since we set out years ago: Naruto-sama, Daikani-san, and a girl in these Exams."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Why did you change the number of people that were looking? Seems to me that you've got something to hide."

Gekidou lowered his gaze. "That would be Enishi-ji-san. He died after a battle with a Jashinist. He was the one who let us know about Naruto-sama."

Jiraiya cast a glance at Naruto, who nodded. "He branded me with a summoning tattoo, informed my team and me of our shared blood, sent us off to find Daikani, and died. He's buried in Nami no Kuni."

Jiraiya frowned. "A summoning tattoo? That was... presumptuous of him. For what summons?"

"Let's just say a group untrustworthy with anyone else and leave it at that," said Geiruudou. "I can tell that you do not believe us."

"It's kinda hard to," said Jiraiya, crossing him arms. "An man claiming to be an Uzumaki shows up out of nowhere, claims the gaki as family, and sends him off to others. You don't even look like Uzumaki; I mean, I knew one that lived in Konoha years ago, and you look nothing like the one. The eye color can be excused, but you don't have the hair." He was pointing at Gekidou when he said this, and looked over at Geiruudou. "Do you even have hair?"

Geiruudou stared at him, then removed his bandanna. He had orange hair tied back into a topknot, but when he removed the string holding the topknot in place, it fell down revealing that it was chin-length with a bang in between his eyes and covering his ears. It was also revealed that the orange hair was not so orange; the roots were red, and faded into orange at the ends.

"As you can see, I possess the red hair of our clan," said Geiruudou. "It may not appear so due to us being half-Uzumaki, for until we unlock our kekkei, we bear traits of our non-Uzumaki parent. Once we unlock it, it manifests in the form of the distinctive hair."

Jiraiya flinched and a memory his him, a boy with red hair blocking his eyes. Sure, this guy had his eyes revealed, but the similarity was uncanny. "Nagato..." he muttered.

"Who's that?" asked Geiruudou as he returned to his previous appearance.

Jiraiya winced at having let slip his former student's name. "He was an orphan in Ame no Kuni," said the Sannin. "He plus two others, a boy named Yahiko and a girl named Konan, were my students for a brief time. I taught them the shinobi arts for three years, then came back here. Last I heard, they were dead."

"Why would you bring him up now, then?" asked Geiruudou.

"Because you looked almost like him, a moment ago," said Jiraiya. "Plus, I think he might have been an Uzumaki."

Gekidou, Geiruudou, and Naruto twitched. "What do you mean, might have been?" growled out Gekidou, all joviality gone.

"He had the red hair, and the Rinnegan..." Jiraiya was cut off as Gekidou rushed him and held him up in the air, his feet dangling.

"And you just left him!?" roared Gekidou. "A kinsman, one bearing our great ancestor's eyes, and you abandoned him to death in a foreign land!?"

"For his own protection!" spat back Jiraiya. "As ashamed as I am to say it, he would have been better off out there than in here!"

That caused the three that were glaring at him to stop, raising an eyebrow on que. Gekidou set him down, and asked "What do you mean?"

Jiraiya massaged his throat and said, "Konoha doesn't advertise it, but they are not the strongest of the great five villages... at least, not at the moment. It is a two-way tie between us and Kumogakure, with Kumo being a good margin ahead. This was because back in the war, Konoha had the Professor, the current Sandaime Hokage; my former team, the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, the man who would later become the Yondaime Hokage, and a whole other slew of reasons. Thanks to the interference of Kirigakure in the war, we ended up fighting on two fronts; Kiri on one front and Iwagakure on the other, and Kumogakure got into a pissing contest with us at some point. In spite of that, we still came up on top."

"So what happened?" asked Naruto, confused. "You said that Kumo is still stronger than Konoha."

"The Kyuubi attack, the defection of Orochimaru, and the Uchiha Clan Massacre happened," said Jiraiya. "The Kyuubi attack did a good amount of damage, Orochimaru's defection was a sour note and a punch to the eye, and the Uchiha Clan Massacre took care of a fair amount of our shinobi forces. That drove home a point that we were getting weaker. Of course, by the time I had met Nagato and his friends, it was during the Second Shinobi War, which was far worse than the Third. That was between us, Sunagakure under the command of the Sandaime Kazekage, Iwagakure under the command of the Sandaime Tsuchikage, and Amegakure under the command of Sanshouuo no Hanzou. We had lost a fair number of forces during the war, so... certain individuals set out looking for more strength to gather. That's why I left him out there, instead of bringing him back to Konoha."

"I understand," said Geiruudou. "With the Rinnegan, he would have been desirable as a breeder, and you were trying to spare him that, in spite of the fact that few people actually know what the Rinnegan looks like."

"Yes," said Jiraiya, nodding his head. "During the Third War, the same thing went for the Uzumaki individual I knew. Everyone knew that that person was an Uzumaki, but with them under my patronage, there wasn't much they could do. Of course, this was after Kumo tried to kidnap them, but it drove the point home. The point that I'm making is that even now, Konoha's trying to find ways of getting its power and superiority back, by any means necessary."

"You know, that could be easily solved with a Chastity Seal," remarked Geiruudou, to which Jiraiya and Gekidou winced.

"I would have to be some kind of monster to put that on someone," said Jiraiya. He raised an eyebrow at Gekidou glaring at Geiruudou, and asked, "Why is he glaring at you?"

"Because this jerk won't take mine off!" growled Gekidou.

"It stays on unless Toma-sama says otherwise," said Geiruudou.

"There's a story behind that, isn't there?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto nodded, want to hear it as well. Everyone sat down to hear this sordid tale.

"It happened years ago in Mitsu no Kuni (1)," began Geiruudou. "We were looking for work to support what remained of our clan, and took to various professions. Tsurina became a herbalist, Saitou a blacksmith, Joumaru became a gourmand, and Gekidou became bodyguard for the Daimyou."

"What about you and Toma?" asked Naruto.

"Toma, myself, and Enishi were on the continent, searching for family members and our fellow Uzushio clan allies. Of course, we were summoned back because of an incident..." He glared at Gekidou and pointed at him. "The incident being that that guy couldn't keep it in his pants!"

"I told all of you, the Daimyou gave me permission to sleep with his wife!"

Even Jiraiya had a stony look on his face. "How can a Daimyou gave you permission to sleep with his wife?" he asked. "I'm a great lover of women, and even I'm not that stupid to try to seduce a Daimyou's wife."

"I thought you had morals," quipped Naruto. "Even I know that sleeping with another man's wife is wrong! How could you do such a thing!?"

"Well, for starters, the Daimyou wanted another child," said Gekidou slowly, like he was talking to children. "But he couldn't do the job himself. He had his goods mangled in a horse-riding accident. But he didn't want any random sucker to do the job for him."

"Weren't you some random sucker?" asked Jiraiya.

"Shut up!" retorted Gekidou. "I'm telling the story! Anyway, I had been working there for about four years, and thwarted a number of assassination and kidnapping attempts on the Daimyou and his family, and with some vouching from Toma-sama, Danryuu-sama, the Daimyou, trusted me enough to tell me to do so, while his wife was present. Of course, she wasn't too happy, given that she wanted to honor her marriage vows, but Danryuu-sama said that this was one of those times where they could be overlooked," He looked to the sky, musing. "The first night we did it, Kimiko-sama was nervous, but she eventually got into it. The second night, she came to me, and we did it right there on Danryuu-sama's bedroom wall..."

"Get to the point," said Geiruudou. He had a stony look on his face, as opposed to Naruto and Jiraiya, who's faces were reddening.

"Fine," said Gekidou. "Anyway, the third night, I got a note from her calling me to her room, so I went. When I got there, Danryuu-sama's daughter Miyuki-sama was there instead, and she told me that she had sent the note, not her mother. I told her that her father would castrate me if he found out, but she said that he wouldn't find out unless I left, in which case, she would scream. At that point, I realized that I was being blackmailed, and I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I left, I'd be screwed. If I stay, I'll get screwed later on. OW!"

Geiruudou had slapped Gekidou on the shaved part of his head. "Keep your terrible puns to yourself," he snapped.

"If you got castrated," asked Naruto, "wouldn't you grow them back?"

Gekidou rubbed his head. "Yeah, but it would take a while, and it would hurt like hell. Anyway, she told me that she had seen me with her mother, and wanted to know why her father had chosen me out of everyone else. Of course, her mother came in a moment later, and put together what was going on in a matter of seconds. The short version is that I was compelled to please the two of them."

Jiraiya nodded, feeling mixed on the issue. It was a man's dream to have a mother and daughter at the same time... along with two sisters... or two hotties in general, but he hadn't been to Mitsu no Kuni before, given how close it was to Kirigakure. For all he knew, the Daimyou's wife and daughter could have been like the current Hi no Kuni's wife. That made him shudder in disgust. The woman was a good woman, but she was a little too big for his liking. "I can see how you're stuck, but why would she want you? I mean, she couldn't have been more than 16, right?" He just threw a number out there.

"17, actually," said Gekidou, reaching into his vest. "I was 20 at the time." He pulled out a picture and handed it to Naruto, with Jiraiya looking over his shoulder. The two of them went red, and Jiraiya had a bit of blood leaking from his nose.

The picture showed Danryuu the Mitsu no Kuni Daimyou, a frowning man built like a stocky wrestler with shoulder-length, dark blue hair that he kept tied up in a ponytail, with large dark blue eyebrows over dark purple eyes, and a long, dark blue beard on his chin, wearing a dark green kosode with a dark blue jinbaori over it, a dark hakama, black socks and traditional sandals. Next to him was Kimiko his wife, a voluptuous woman with long, black hair which she kept held up in a messy bun, sea-green eyes behind a pair of violet glasses, full pink lips curled in a smile with a beauty mark near the left corner of her mouth, and wearing a dark purple kimono with a green sash wrapped around her waist, which accented her figure. In between the two was Miyuki the daughter, sitting on a stool. She had purple hair done into pigtails and held by pink ribbons, deep purple eyes with a beauty mark near the outer corner of her left eye, and wore a long, purple kimono tied with a dark pink sash that did nothing to hide her voluptuous form.

Jiraiya's perverted mind instantly labeled the mother and daughter as DD-cups, and he began bowing before Gekidou. "You diabolical bastard," he said, bowing before him. "You lucky sonuvabitch. You glorious douchebag. I am not worthy to be in your presence."

"Get up," said Geiruudou, kicking Jiraiya. "Your name-calling aside, you'll only stoke his ego even more."

Naruto, still blushing, handed back the picture to Gekidou. "They're beautiful... but the Daimyou is scary. It feels like even his picture is staring into my soul, telling me to stay away from his wife and daughter. I can see why you were afraid."

Gekidou nodded. "Myself, Kimiko-sama, and Miyuki-sama got away with it for two days. On the third night, I guess Miyuki's minder went to check on her, but couldn't find her, so she went looking and peeked in Kimiko-sama's room, and the first thing she sees is Miyuki-sama on me whilst Kimiko-sama is being eaten by me."

That confused Naruto. "What...?"

"Does he need to be here?" begged Jiraiya, pointing at Naruto. "I mean, he's too young to hear this."

"Old enough to kill, old enough to fuck," said Gekidou. "Anyway, that was when Danryuu-sama came back, right when I finished inside his daughter. Boy, he was pissed."

"I'd imagine," said Jiraiya, imagining himself in Danryuu's place. He shivered. He couldn't, because if he had lost his goods, he'd go join a monastery, simply because suicide was not an option.

"Anyway, his guards pulled me out of there, so to speak, and onto the chopping block. Of course, Kimiko-sama and Miyuki-sama stopped him and explained everything that had happened, but Toma-sama got pulled into the whole thing, and this bastard," he pointed at Geiruudou, "came up with the damned condition that would let me walk away with my goods attached!"

Geiruudou let off an uncharacteristic grin. "Oh my yes, a Chastity Seal that can only be removed by myself or Toma-sama, and a restraining order prohibiting him from coming 300 feet near Danryuu-sama's palace and his family, until such a time where Danryuu-sama decides to rescind the order. If he violates the order, he will have his chakra sealed and be turned into a eunuch."

Jiraiya, Naruto, and Gekidou winced and covered their precious spots. "That's pretty steep," said Jiraiya. "How old are you now?" he asked Gekidou.

"I'm 33," he growled. "I went back to see if the two took or not, while keeping my distance, but the blasted guards found out I was in Mitsu and 'suggested' that I leave before Danryuu-sama finds out that I'm around."

Geiruudou cleared his throat and pulled out a picture from his coat and handed it to Gekidou. Gekidou took one look and let out a cry of rage and anguish. Naruto and Jiraiya looked at the picture to see why, and saw the two women laying in bed next to each other, smiling warmly at two swaddled babies with orange hair that the two held.

"How in the nine hells did you get that!?" yelled Gekidou.

"I got it from Tsurina, because she was the midwife. Just because you can't go near them doesn't mean that anyone else of our family can't," said Geiruudou. Deep down, he was enjoying this. "Even then, she was still under heavy guard, and Danryuu-sama says that you can get near them again when he's dead and buried for ten years. Incidentally, your daughter with Kimiko-sama is named Asuka, and your son with Miyuki-sama is named Touji."

"You're a jerk!" Gekidou spat. "I'd kill you and Tsurina if we weren't related... no, I'd maim you both and leave you in front of some bears!" He broke down into man-sobs.

Jiraiya patted his shoulder. "That's harsh. If it helps, I'm banned from entering the former Yugakure because I nearly seduced the daughter of the Daimyou of Yu no Kuni. That and the general peeping at the hot springs..." he trailed off at the looks he was given from the three Uzumaki.

"Anyway," said Gekidou, wiping away his tears and changing the subject. "That's why I hate Chastity Seals. And I don't think that Kushina-sama would approve of them either."

"Who's Kushina?" asked Jiraiya.

"My mother," said Naruto. "She was the Uzumaki you knew, but I think that you knew that."

"What makes you think that?" asked Jiraiya, an eyebrow raised.

"You avoided saying what gender the Uzumaki was," said Naruto. "Plus, when we returned from Nami, and confronted Sandaime-ji-san with Gekidou and Geiruudou, his advisors admitted that there was a female Uzumaki in the village at one point recently. Then there's the fact that I live in a place that's owned in your name. Lastly, I got a letter and journal from her... and my father."

Jiraiya had to admit, the kid put out some convincing arguments. "And what are you getting at?"

"You knew my parents," said Naruto. "Scratch that, you know who my parents are. Uzumaki Kushina, and the Namikaze. What I want to know is where were you when I needed you here?"

"Keeping your ass protected," said Jiraiya, noting how Naruto called Minato "the Namikaze". He raised a hand at Naruto mouth opening. "You are right. Your father is Namikaze Minato, and your mother is Uzumaki Kushina. They told me that if anything happened to them, to make sure nothing bad happens to you. When they died, I set up a stipend for your upkeep, made sure you had a home to live in, and ensured your enrollment into the Shinobi Academy so you could protect yourself."

Naruto frowned. "I thought that the old man..."

Jiraiya snorted. "The Hokage can only really show any favoritism to their family, no one else. You're a special case, due to your heritage. But the Hokage still can only provide the bare essentials for you... the rest you have to do on your own. That's where I came in."

"But when I needed someone here, you weren't here," retorted Naruto. "You say that it was to keep me safe, but from what exactly? Couldn't be any worse out there than in here?"

"You could have been that Gekidou guy to another village," said Jiraiya, motioning to Gekidou. "A breeder, and you don't necessarily need limbs for that. You also could have been used to satisfy another village's hate as a sacrifice. Iwagakure would pay a fine price to see you dead. Kumogakure would pay more to see you tied to a bed and bred over and over. Sunagakure and Kirigakure wouldn't care one way or the other. You could have also become someone else's experiment, like say... Orochimaru. Want me to go on?"

None of them needed him to, especially given the last part; it reminded them of the fate of Daikani before he had been found.

"I was keeping tabs on Orochimaru, and intercepting anything that could give away your lineage, and various other things," continued Jiraiya. "Right now, few people even in this village know exactly who and what you really are. I know it's not much, but that's all I can say." 'As your godfather,' he kept to himself.

"I understand, but that still doesn't mean I like it," said Naruto. "You can make up for not being here by helping me train."

Jiraiya laughed. "And why the hell should I do that? You have Hatake Kakashi as a sensei, and two family members to help. What do I have that you want?"

"You trained Namikaze-san," said Naruto. "That means that you helped him get strong. So, teach me something that you taught him."

"Not with that attitude," said Jiraiya. "Namikaze Minato was your father. Show him some respect."

"Oh, I respect him," said Naruto. "He saved the village from a rampaging Kitsune, at the cost of his own life. I respect that. That doesn't mean I have to like him, because he condemned me to thirteen years of hate from a village full of idiots... idiots that seem intent on meeting the actual Kyuubi." He looked at the ground, frowning in anger. "I remember nearly being beaten to death years ago, just because I was there and it was night. I was saved by an unknown woman with red eyes and red hair, who made my tormentors disappear." He looked Jiraiya in the eyes. "That is what Namikaze-san saved. A village that professes peace and love, but lies through its teeth."

Jiraiya sighed. He had hoped that Naruto had been left alone, but it sounded like he had been tormented physically, and isolated by the village. "Way to lay on the guilt trip," he muttered. "That can't be all of it," he said out loud. "Surely there has been someone, anyone who helped you?"

Naruto looked to the sky. "Iruka-sensei helped after a while... Mikoto-san helped out... Sandaime-ji-san was there, too... Ayame-nee-chan and Teuchi-ji-san were there... and Hinata-chan..." He growled. "Hinata-chan was the only one my age that actually liked me. And she's in the hospital because her cousin hates her for what the others in her family did. She's nothing like the rest of the Main Family!"

Jiraiya squinted. "Wait a minute, is she a Hyuuga? A Main Family Hyuuga?"

"Yeah," said Naruto. "And her cousin is a Branch Family member, and my opponent. I'm going to make him pay for killing her."

Gekidou, Geiruudou, and Jiraiya looked at each other. "I thought you said that she was in the hospital," said Jiraiya.

"She is," said Naruto. "She died, but I was able to bring her back."

Gekidou slapped him on the back. "Good job!"

Naruto winced. "Thanks."

Jiraiya gazed off at the village. "An outcast, hated by his home, fighting for the woman he loves, against pride and prejudice... sounds like the next storyline for my next book!" he giggled out.

"Leave us out of your dirty fantasies!" yelled Naruto, standing and pointing at the Sannin. "And I still want you to teach me something!"

Jiraiya looked over at Gekidou and Geiruudou. "What have you taught him?"

"Fuuin Jutsu essentials, and other random things," said Geiruudou.

Jiraiya nodded, and looked at Naruto. "Gaki, I'll train you under one condition."

"Yeah?"

"You have to bring me a beautiful woman... a companion that I may gain inspiration from and to aid in your training."

Naruto was about to rage at him, but stopped, and thought. He nodded, the split-second plan he had formed coming together. "Wait here," he said, and took off running.

Jiraiya watched him go. "Wow, I would have trained him regardless, but this works too," he said.

Geiruudou shook his head. "Be careful what you wish for, Jiraiya-dono. You may end up with something you did not intend for."

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Naruto ran cackling towards the hospital, confident that that was where Mikoto-san was. Well, first he was going to visit Hinata-chan, then go find Mikoto-san. Of course, he could go see Lee while he was here.

First things first, he thought. He approached the receptionist, and said, "Which room is Hyuuga Hinata in? And please, the right answer this time."

The nurse was about to deliver a nasty retort to him when she caught the undertone of malice in his voice. She had heard many a tale of those that had earned the ire of the Uzumaki brat, and she was in no desire to be on the receiving end of one of his "pranks". "Room 212," she said, tonelessly.

"Thank you for your time," he said, and left her. At length, he reached the room and entered, seeing that she was asleep. "Hey," he whispered. "Sorry I missed catching you awake. I'll be back later, but I want to leave you something." He pulled a card out of his jacket, one he had made last night. "Get well soon, Hinata-chan," he whispered, and kissed her on the cheek.

The Brain, who had been quiet since they had returned back to the Uzumaki apartments, thought-spoke, "**Watcher?**"

Naruto shrugged, figuring that now was as good as a time as any. He slammed his hands into the ground, sending a surge of chakra through, and summoned the Watcher Shouhen. It appeared, the color of bone, fleshy, and serpentine, with two folded arms. It 's eight orange eyes, four lined on each side of its head looked everywhere at once, and it preened the three spikes on its elbows. The bifurcated tail twitched, and it gazed up at Naruto.

"Watch over her," said Naruto. "If anyone hostile approaches, fight them off."

"**Watcher can show,**" said the Brain. "**Eyes close**."

Naruto, unsure how to go about this, closed his eyes. Instantly, he saw himself, but from a lower vantage point. It was like he was looking up and seeing a giant version of himself. He opened his eyes to see Watcher looking up at him. "Whoa," he muttered. "That's weird, but it works."

He picked up the Watcher and placed it in the corner, where it wouldn't be noticed, before walking out. He wandered around looking into different rooms, before finding one of the people he was looking for.

"Hey, Lee," he whispered to the sleeping Lee. "Just thought that I'd drop by. I'll see you later when you're awake." He left a card behind, before going to search for Sasuke's room. After wandering around, he came across a room guarded by two ANBU, one with a rabbit mask and another with a tiger mask, and slowly approached them. "This is Sasuke's room, right?" he asked.

The ANBU just looked at him. Naruto, feeling uneasy about the blank gaze of the animal masks and said, "Okay... can I see my teammate?"

"..."

"... If I offended you somehow, I apologize," he tried.

The door opened and Mikoto walked out. When she caught sight of him, she asked, "Naruto-kun? What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to see my teammate, then go look for you," he said. "I need your help with something. A potential sensei of mine needs inspiration to help me train."

Mikoto was confused, but there was a nagging feeling that this was something... familiar. "Were those the exact words?" she asked.

"Yes," said Naruto. He waited as Mikoto thought it over, then nodded her assent. "Great!" he said, grabbing her arm. "Follow me!" As he led her off, he turned around and motioned that he was watching the ANBU. The ANBU with the rabbit mask held up a sign that had the words "Settlin' the Score," and a happy face with sharp teeth below it. Naruto paled and hurried out, ignoring Mikoto's question of what the rush was.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What are you two talking about?" asked Jiraiya to the two Uzumaki. Gekidou and Geiruudou had started arguing about something after Naruto had left, and this drew their attention.

"Something he said about his rescuer," said Geiruudou. "She sounds familiar. I just wish that we had a way of seeing into his head."

"The Yamanaka clan can do that," said Jiraiya. "The problem will be finding one to do it."

"Because he's a Jinchuriki, right?" asked Gekidou.

"What are you-?"

"We figured it out when we met him," said Geiruudou. "That aside, that's the reason, right?"

"Yeah," said Jiraiya. "No one wants to run into the Kyuubi in his head." His next words were cut off by Naruto calling him.

"Ero-Sennin! I got that girl you wanted!"

Jiraiya was about to yell at Naruto not to call him that, when he caught sight of who Naruto had brought with him, and paled. "Of all people, why did he bring her!?" he muttered. Out loud, he let out a clear, "Hello, Mikoto-san. What brings you this way?"

"Ero-Sennin, eh, Jiraiya-sama?" asked Mikoto, a soft smile on her lips. Behind her, was an illusion that looked like a growling fiery saber-tooth tiger fused with a woman. "It fits you perfectly. And Naruto-kun said that you needed inspiration to help him train, yes?"

"For some reason, this lady scares me," said Gekidou. Geiruudou nodded and said to Mikoto, "What do you have to offer our cousin?"

The image disappeared as Mikoto approached the two Uzumaki. "Oh? And who might you two be?"

"Uzumaki Gekidou, and Uzumaki Geiruudou, at your service," said Gekidou, bowing at the waist. "Current caretakers of our cousin and clan heir Uzumaki Naruto."

Mikoto giggled, covering her mouth with her left hand curled into a fist. "How noble you sound," she said. "It is good that Naruto-kun has family somewhere. But why do you appear now?"

"We have been scouring the Elemental Nations for the remnants of our clan and our village clan allies for years," said Geiruudou. "It was sheer luck that our clanmate Enishi stumbled upon Naruto-sama. Now we seek to make him strong so he can help lead the Uzumaki Clan into a new age of prosperity... in the future, hopefully."

"Whew," said Naruto, letting out a breath. "I thought you meant now."

"In any case," said Jiraiya. "I have an idea of what to teach you, but I want to hear what skills you have."

Naruto stroked his chin with his right hand. "Okay... I know the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, a couple of Suiton ninjutsu, I can summon without using hand seals, and I'm moderate in Fuuin Jutsu." On an afterthought, he unsealed Kubikiri Boucho and stood it on end. "I also have this, Kubikiri Boucho and three elemental natures... Wind, Water, and Lightning. I've got a handle on my Suiton and Fuuton, now I need to work on my Raiton."

Jiraiya whistled, impressed at the repertoire. "Three elements, eh?" he asked. "What are their ratios?"

"According to Kakashi-sensei, I have a strong Wind nature, and an equally strong Water and Lightning nature," said Naruto. "Is there something about that that you can help with?"

Jiraiya stroked his chin. "Sounds like a half-quarter-quarter ratio," he said. "I heard that someone with the right natures could theoretically use an Elemental Kekkei."

"Yes," said Mikoto. "Earth and Fire for Youton, the Lava Release; Fire and Wind for Shakuton, the Scorch Release; Wind and Water for Hyouton, the Ice Release; Water and Earth for Mokuton, the Wood Release; and Water and Lightning for Ranton, the Storm Release; with the only tri-element nature being Jinton, the Dust Release." She blushed at the looks she was given. "We have a lot of data on the Elemental Kekkei back in the Uchiha Clan library."

"Don't forget Futton, the Boil Release," said Geiruudou. "Fire and Water are needed to make it."

"So does that mean that I could have Hyouton and Ranton?" asked Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei told me that I could get them if I equalize them somehow."

"Doubtful," said Jiraiya. "Doing something like that takes years, and it sounds like your Wind nature is greater than the other two. Remember, you need to reach an equilibrium between the elements to try to make a new one, and I can't see you doing that... at least, not for Hyouton. Plus, the best people to talk to about that are either in foreign villages or dead. There is ONE person in the village that might be able to help, but I'd need to find him, and he's in ANBU. The way I see it, you MAY have the capacity for Ranton, but the problem with that is that Ranton is a Kumogakure Kekkei, and they are notoriously stingy with whatever Kekkei they have. Getting anything out of a Kumo-nin is out of the question, and you are showing your Uzumaki traits, so they might put two-and-two together, in regards to your heritage, and kidnap you."

Naruto frowned. "So there's nothing I can do?"

"In regards to manipulating your elements like a master, not now," said Jiraiya. "But I can teach you this." He held out his right hand, and chakra swirled around it, forming a softball-sized blue orb that spun. He ran and thrust it into a tree, causing a loud grinding noise to rise up, until the back of the tree exploded. When the dust cleared the area that Jiraiya had struck showed a half-dome ground into the tree, while the back was in splinters.

"Wow!" yelled Naruto. "What was that!?"

"That was the Rasengan," said Jiraiya. "Your father created it, and taught it to me. I will teach it to you, but first, you need to complete your prior training... namely the water-walking and getting a hold of your Lightning nature."

"Hai!" said Naruto, enthusiastically. He ran off to find Kakashi, but stopped and turned around. "Just wondering, why do you seem to terrify some people, Mikoto-san?"

Mikoto let out a wistful sigh. "Back when I was on active duty, before I had Itachi, I was known as the Hijosei because when I arrived, things had a nasty tendency to burn. They say that I could control fire like some sort of deity, and there was one time where I could form an armor of fire around me... not sure if I can do that still. In any case, tales of my exploits were told to frighten the small children of our enemies into behaving so I wouldn't burn them into rebirthing into nice children. Of course, they were embellished beyond belief, what with the idea that a fire demon constantly appears near me, but still..."

The four men stared stonily at the Uchiha matriach, unbelieving of the fact that she was unaware of the fiery apparition that they had seen a moment ago. "But why is Ero-Sennin afraid of you? I mean, we're allies, right?" asked Naruto.

"Oh my, yes," she said closing her eyes and smiling. "But he knows what he did."

Jiraiya was whimpering and mentally cursing Naruto, because that blasted apparition appeared again and was looking at him. "In my defense, that was my best-seller for several years," he said, as the fiery construct let out a silent roar. "And the proceeds from that novel were distributed to you and Kushina. You can't deny that those were some good proceeds, can you?"

Naruto may have been a bit dense, but he was able to put together what happened. "You put Mikoto-san and my mom in your filthy books!?"

"In my defense, men do love their Yuri," said Jiraiya, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "I regret nothing!" came his voice from far away.

"What's Yuri?" asked Naruto. He got looks from Gekidou, Geiruudou, and Mikoto; looks of dismay, stony surprise, and embarassment, respectively.

Unknown to the four, they were being watched. A wolf-shaped being with black fur and a long whip-like tail listened at the edge of the woods through metallic triangular ears at the four Konoha-nin. When it saw Naruto run off to finish his training, it ran off as well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later found Naruto returning back to the Uzumaki apartments from a hard day's work. He was tired and hungry, and decided to stop off at Ichiraku for dinner. On the way, he stumbled and bumped into a woman carrying two bags, causing her to drop them. "Shit!" he cursed, and swooped to help her pick them up. "I'm sorry, that was my fault!" he apologized.

"It's quite alright," she said softly. "You look like you've been in a fight."

Naruto took a look at her as he helped her pick up her things. She was wearing a light green kimono that hid her figure and was tied in place with a red sash, that had the kanji "Utsukushisa" (2) patterned on the sleeves and shoulders, with pink roses on the bottom of the kimono. Her hands were covered by black feminine gloves, and her black hair was tied up with combs in a traditional hairstyle, and she wore a green scarf that covered up her mouth and left her sea-green eyes exposed.

She frowned as she noticed at least seven people glaring at Naruto and one person approached her. "Madam, you should stay away from... it," said the woman. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let us drive it away."

"You hear that, monster?" called another person. "We don't want you here!"

"Funny how a so-called monster decided to help a defense lady like myself retrieve her belongings, while all of the other good humans decide to let her fend for herself," she said. "If he is evil by that measure, then I wonder what you are?"

Those present had the decency to look ashamed. "He's just biding his time," said someone. "You'll regret it if you're left alone with him."

"Monsters have no need of hiding, they do what they want, whenever they want," she replied. "Plus, he looks no different than any of you, and you look to be more monster-like than he is."

That caused a bristling amongst the crowd. "Oi, who are you calling a monster!?"

"Let's just get out of here," said Naruto, pulling up the woman's belongings. "You can't reason with them, they're half-wits."

"Oi, who are you calling half-wits?" called out someone else in the rapidly growing crowd. They began crowding around the two, at least, until a familiar figure appeared in front of them.

"Oi, gaki," said Jiraiya. "What have you done now?"

"He assaulted that woman, Jiraiya-sama!" said someone. "Then he wouldn't let anyone near her, and tried to kidnap her."

"**Lying,**" came a voice, and the toad from yesterday that Jiraiya had summoned against Naruto and Sakura appeared. "**He tried to help, and the masses became a hoard of hecklers. She kept a cool head, and poked holes in every one of their arguments.**"

"You're lying!" cried out a woman. "You're just trying to cover for that thing!"

"He doesn't even know the gaki," said Jiraiya. "Why the hell would he try to cover for someone he's only seen once?" At no answer, he shook his head. "And in case you can't tell, the woman is wearing the garb of the Kusa no Kuni Daimyou's court. So you might have caused an international incident."

That caused the crowd to panic, and with the memories of the Hyuuga Affair still in their minds, they knew full well that an incident could turn into war. They dispersed rapidly, which left the toad, Jiraiya, Naruto, and the woman alone. "Now that that's out of the way, what are you doing here, miss?" asked Jiraiya. "The Finals aren't until next month."

"My name is Ninishi," said the woman. "And I was delivering messages to Team Kusa. The Daimyou is pleased with their success, and hope that they will bring honor to Kusa."

"That's... noble of him," said Jiraiya. "And what were you doing, Naruto?"

"I just finished my water walking, and I was on my way to get food when I bumped into Ninishi-san, and I decided to help her out to make up for making her drop her stuff."

"**Truth,**" said the Toad. "**Do you need me for anything else, Jiraiya?**"

"That'll be it," said Jiraiya, and the toad disappeared in a puff of smoke. In response to Naruto getting ready to ask, he said "I left him out to see how you were doing. You did good, getting water walking down so fast." He turned to Ninishi, and said, "We can escort you back to the hotel."

"Thank you, kind sirs," she said, and the three walked down the street. When they arrived at the hotel, she waved goodbye and entered. Jiraiya turned to Naruto and said, "What are you going to do now?"

"Get food, then go to sleep," he said, and the two walked off. "Tomorrow, I have to work on my Lightning chakra."

"How about I treat you?" asked Jiraiya, ignoring the shiver that ran down his spine. He would regret not heeding that later.

The two were unaware that they were being watched by Ninishi, who had merely walked off to the side once inside the hotel, and waited. Her eyes filled with mirth, she walked off to the elevator, and delivering a nod to the Jounin receptionist, she walked into the elevator, and emerged out into a hall after the elevator dropped her off on the third floor. She approached a door and, inserting a key into the lock, walked in. She was immediately confronted by the Kusa-nin Burei. "What took you so long?" the masked nin demanded.

"Ran into some trouble on the street," said "Ninishi" as her voiced lowered slightly, from a slightly high feminine tone to a tad lower, slightly masculine tone. "Bumped into our two-toned Uzumaki friend," said Burei, as he dropped the bags. "Konoha civilians are so bloody STUPID. You do not piss off one of your shinobi, no matter what."

"Did you get the stuff or not, you drag queen?"

"Yes," said Burei, a frown marring his androgynous features. "And found out something interesting. Where's Ni-sensei?"

"In her room," said Haru, picking up the bags and inspecting them. "How am I going to forge it?"

"Use the stove," said Burei as he walked into Ni's room. Ni was reclining on the bed, and raised an eyebrow at Burei as walked in. "Are you pretty enough?" she asked.

"'Are you pretty enough'," Burei mocked to Ni's amusement. "No matter what you and Haru think, my infiltration skills are second to none. That's how I found out that the Uzumaki boy may have something in common with Kata-san."

Now that intrigued Ni. "Oh? That is interesting..."

"What do you mean?"

"Oboro-sama thought that he wouldn't have anything of worth beside his Uzumaki genetics. She had considered just abducting him at his weakest moment and slaving him to her. Now she will have to wait and see how strong he gets," she mused before standing. She pulled out a scroll, pulled off her left glove, bit her index finger until it bled, and swiped it on the scroll. She sent chakra through her hand, and muttered "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." The familiar circle and lines appeared, and in a puff of smoke, a man appeared, bewildered as to how he got there. He was a skinny, narrow-faced fellow with dark grey hair and grey eyes, his bang on his right side, a leather strap that went around his head across his nose, and a black outfit with a visible long black glove on his right hand, a cloak on the left side of his shoulder and straps from the right shoulder going down. His most prominent feature were the three marks on his forehead. This was Ni's teammate, San.

San squinted at Burei, and smirked. "The question you must ask yourself," he said, "is 'Do I feel pretty?' Well, do you, buddy?"

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty, and witty, and bright," growled out Burei, to the amusement of Ni and San. "I told Haru and Ni-sensei, and I'm telling you; my infiltration skills are next to none. But onto more important matters... I found someone in this bloody village that may have something in common with Kata-san."

"And you need what exactly?" asked San, crossing his arms.

"Just some stepping stones delivered," said Burei. "Something to make this person... interesting. A word of note, he lives in a fenced in compound, so you'll have to make an air delivery." He handed over a torn piece of blue fabric. "Here's another way of finding him."

"Understood," said San, taking the fabric. "Anything else?"

"Just that Karin-san is at a crossroads," said Ni. "She hasn't made her choice yet, but we are watching closely."

"All right," he said, and knelt down. He pulled out a kunai and cut a shallow cut into his shoulder, until it bled. Swiping the blood across his covered hand, he slammed it on the scroll, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

San reappeared in a room lit by torches on the walls. He walked out the door and walked down the hall, meeting a man who looked exactly like him, save that his bangs and clothing were reversed to the other side of his lookalike. This was San's twin brother, Ichi. "What did Ni want?" he asked.

"She needed the services of Kata-san," said San. "Burei-san found someone like Kata-san, so he wants to make him interesting for Oboro-sama."

Ichi chuckled. "Interesting, eh? Kata-san's in his room, but you may want to knock first. He went in awfully cranky about something."

"Whatever," said San, as he walked down the hall to the man's room, revealing that on his back was a mark that looked like one diamond over the other. He knocked, then opened the door without waiting for a reply, and set to call Kata, but he halted. The reason was because he saw a pile of clothes on the ground and Kata sitting on his bed, but he also saw a pale feminine back, a white afro, and a round pair of buttocks bouncing up and down in the lap of the large tanned man with spiky white hair, who was holding that pair of buttocks in large but gentle hands and now glaring at him.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" he growled over the moans of the girl bouncing in his lap. "Go away, or I'll kill you. Matter of fact, I'll just kill you on principle." He began raising his right arm, electricity arcing around it.

San covered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Kata-san, but it's kind of urgent. Ni found someone with the possibility of possessing your... ability."

Stiffening, as the girl cried out in joy below him, Kata let out a low grunt. "Where?"

"In Konoha," said San, now turned around with his eyes still covered. "Oboro-sama's pet project. The boy she left there. Burei-san says he possesses the potential for the gift, and would like to deliver stepping stones to him."

"Just give that damned pervert a jutsu and tell him to go away," said Kat from her spot on the bed behind Kata. "I'm ready for round 4, and I hate waiting for something good."

Kata stood, gloriously naked, and walked to a desk, and scribbled something onto a scroll. He closed the scroll, and walked over to San, and held the scroll in front of the embarrassed shinobi. "Take the damned scroll, and if you walk in again without waiting for a reply, your ass is grass." With that, he kicked the shinobi out of the doorway and slammed the door.

San picked himself off the ground and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "That could have gone better," he muttered, before walking down the hall. His destination, this time, was to another part of the compound, inhabited by three individuals. As he walked down, he passed by a teenager with blue-green eyes, two scarlet dots on his forehead, pale yellow hair done in a ponytail, and was wearing a black kimono, black pants, shinobi sandals, with a mask of bandages covering the lower half of his face. He had the storm symbol on the back of his kimono, with a green spiral inside, and was carrying a candle.

"Hey, Heikiko-san. What's going on?" asked San.

"Our brother Aimai is dead," said the youth, stopping and turning to San. "Mother and Father are displeased, but otherwise show nothing. We, his siblings who grew with him, are filled with sorrow and rage, and will avenge his death."

"So, asking Bakumei-san to run a quick errand is out of the question?"

"Yes," said Heikiko, his face turning stony. "She is in mourning for her brother, so whatever it is can wait." He turned and walked away, leaving San to watch as his compatriot disappeared into a door. He sighed out of resignation.

"There's only two other people I can think of for this errand, but one of them is with them, considering their relationship... so that leaves the other... but he scares the hell outta me," he mused as he walked down the hallway. At length, he reached a door that was masked by a snarling dragon and opened it, to reveal an open area that held a tree. It looked like a large Persimmon tree emerging out of a mound of earth with a massive dinosaur-like skull coming out of it, but it had vines growing around it, and cactus-like leaves that were drooping down. At the middle and ends of the leaves, yellow spiky objects shaped like European Pears were hanging, and they seemed to give off a low glow in the dim moonlight. San shivered. No matter how many times he'd been here, seeing that tree with the massive skull on the side of the earth mound still creeped him out.

"What do you want?" came a bored male voice from out of the dark. Well, that was one of three that lived in this part of the compound.

"I need your services," said San. "I have something that needs to be delivered to Konoha."

"Do it yourself," said the voice, now annoyed. "Why would I want to step foot in that shithole?"

"Because Oboro-sama requests it."

"Oboro does not rule me," said the voice, now getting angry.

"This is just one little thing we need done," said San. "Remember how you and your clanmates were hunted to extinction by reason of your appearance? Remember who took you in with no thought of reward?"

"Yes, I remember," said the voice, through clenched teeth. "But you can do it faster. You have a flyer."

"Mine is too large, and would be too noticeable," said San. "If it helps, I can try and set you up with Ni when she gets back. Plus, I'll guard your precious tree while you're gone."

The voice fell silent, before the silhouette of the owner appeared from behind the tree. "Fine, but I will hold you to that. The setup with Ni, that is," said the cloaked young man, as he approached. It was still too dark to see him, in spite of the moonlight, but San could see where he was coming from, from the way his eyes glinted in the dim lighting. He held out the scroll and the piece of fabric.

"What's this?" asked the person, as he pocketed the scroll.

"Your method of finding the kid," said San. "He lives in a fenced off compound, but given that I've never been to Konoha, there's probably dozens of them. Hence, the fabric."

The figure growled, before stalking away. When he reached the tree, he pulled off one of the yellow objects, and bit into it. When he had devoured most of it, he groaned and dropped to his knees, before sickening "cratching" noises sounded along with the tearing of cloth. He let out a roaring howl and leapt into the air, disappearing into the night sky.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nighttime in Konoha was drawing to a close, as the first light of dawn began to appear. But it was still dark enough for the winged being to swoop in without being noticed. It was a tanned brown creature flying on a pair of bat-like wings, with a reptilian tail trailing behind it wielding three backward-sweeping spikes at the end (one on top and two on each side), with digitigraded legs that ended in five-toed dinosaurian feet; four toes and a dewclaw. The forearms were oversized and muscular, ending in clawed five-fingered hands. The head was the most drastic; a pair of triangular ears stuck out of the side of the head, there were two crests on top, resembling three webbed fingers with a claw poking out, and the nose was still human, but slightly upturned. The upper jaw jutted out slightly, but the lower jaw extended drastically, resembling a crocodilian's jaw, with both jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth. Strangely, it wore a pair of black cargo pants and a shredded cloak around its chest and neck, giving off the assumption that it was once human.

It banked, and circled above a fenced-in compound. Holding up the fabric, it inhaled, taking in the scent on the fabric. It turned its head back and forth. The scent did not match. It flapped away, and moved on. It could see another compound... this one was on the edge of some woods. The scent was strongest here. It swooped down, landing in a hallway, and stalked slowly and hunched-over to a door. This was it. It reached into the right cargo pocket with its finger and thumb claws, and placed it on the ground. It noticed that it was getting brighter, so it took the opportunity to bound out like a canine and fly up and over the wall. By the time the sun had risen, it was well on its way back to wherever it came from.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto woke up feeling refreshed, and stretched, feeling his bones pop. The Brain was still asleep, so he went and took a shower. When he emerged, the Brain was awake, and Naruto went into his fridge and pulled out some meat. "Breakfast of champions," he said, as the Brain nibbled on the cold meat. He got himself some cereal, and sniffed the milk. Still good.

After he was done, he dressed in his blue jumpsuit, but left his scroll behind and the Brain behind. He wouldn't need them for the time being, since he was working on his Lightning chakra, and possibly the Rasengan. He opened his door and stepped out, his foot touching an object on the ground. Looking down, his brow furrowed as he picked up a scroll. Thanks to his years of treatment, he was naturally paranoid. He walked outside to look around the new courtyard to see if his cousins were around. Geiruudou was meditating on top of a wooden pillar, like the one back at his old training grounds. "Yo uh, Ruudou," he called. At Geiruudou's gaze, he held up the scroll. "Did you leave this outside my door?"

"No," said Geiruudou, as he stepped off the pole, and reached out. He held it, staring at it for a few minutes, then placed it on the ground. "I can't sense any residual chakra," he said.

"Let me try," said Naruto. "Kanchi San," he muttered, and his iris' turned orange with a single black triangle pointing down while his pupils disappeared. He gazed at the scroll, and after a few minutes, said "I can't see anything wrong." Deactivaing his eyes, he put his fingers in the cross-shaped seal and created a Kage Bunshin, then leaped back into the hallway. Geiruudou followed him, sensing the idea. "Open it!" he called to his Bunshin.

"You fucking suck!" it yelled back, then slowly opened the scroll.

Nothing.

"Um, Boss," called the Bunshin. "This is an explanation scroll plus two jutsu."

"For what?" said Naruto, frowning. Geiruudou frowned as well as the two approached. He took the scroll from the Bunshin and read it, his frown growing deeper.

"Ranton," he muttered. "Someone somehow delivered an explanation on how to actually use the Elemental Kekkei and included a jutsu for it."

"That's... good, right?" asked Naruto.

"Not necessarily," said Geiruudou. "It means that either Mikoto-san snuck here to deliver this, which means that the compound needs to be fortified further, or someone else knows about our conversation yesterday."

"But the only ones who know are us, Gekidou, Ero-Sennin, my team, Kakashi-sensei, and Mikoto-san," said Naruto. "And can't you sense anything giving off chakra?"

"Yes," said Geiruudou. "And that worries me. It means that someone has passed by my sensing, and can go where they will."

"Well, can't worry about that right now," said Naruto, walking to the gate with his Bunshin. "I've got some Lightning to master."

"Good luck," said Geiruudou, as Naruto walked off.

It took Naruto two days to finally get his Lightning chakra down, and by that point, he was burning up on how to do that Ranton jutsu. On the second night, he was so exhausted and excited that he simply bathed, dried himself off, and fell asleep naked.

Of course, there was several people in Konoha who weren't asleep. One of them was Gaara, who sat on a large stone fish on a building on the pagoda that was the Hokage's box for the Chuunin Exam Finals. He stared at the full moon, feeling IT growing stronger, feeling IT yearn for the day IT would rain blood upon the earth, the blood of ITs enemies. Looking off to the side, he saw a woman in a green kimono and scarf walking the streets, but he paid her no mind. If IT wanted her, to keep or kill, IT would say so.

'You're time shall soon come… Mother…'

Gaara was cast out of his thoughts by a familiar voice that said, "This was unexpected… Do you not sleep?" Glancing down, he saw the form of Kinuta Dosu.

"I was planning on killing you here and now, to get a higher probability of defeating Sasuke-kun." Revealing the Melody Device on his arm he asked, "I wonder which is faster… my sound or your sand?"

Dosu was outgunned from the start. From the moonlight, he saw a shape rise from the stone that Gaara sat upon. He heard Gaara say something about IT's blood getting excited during a full moon, but all he could focus on was the horrifying shape in front of him. "What… What are you!?" And there, Dosu's life ended, in a cloud of dust.

When the dust cleared, from where Gaara kneeled panting, three jagged lines had torn themselves through the shingles on the roof. The line led through the mutilated corpse of Kinuta Dosu.

Of course, Gaara never thought to think that there might be witnesses. On the other hand, Gaara did not care. On another hand, the witnesses in question were two allies/conspirators. "That was incredible," said Kabuto, watching from afar with Baki. "Was that his true form?"

Baki was about to ask him about Dosu, but Kabuto cut him off in the middle, saying that Dosu's usefulness had ended some time ago. "I thought he was a guinea pig to test how strong that Uchiha kid was?" asked Baki.

"No, he and his teammates have fulfilled their usefulness," said Kabuto. "Shame though. There were such high hopes for Tsuchi Kin. Oh well, hopes and whatnot."

Unknown to the two, at least for the moment, Gekkou Hayate was listening to the two conspirators talk about their upcoming plans. 'Our allies from Suna… they plan to destroy us?'

After Kabuto handed Baki the scroll that had an outline of Oto's plan, Gekkou had heard enough. Preparing to take off, he stopped after hearing Kabuto say, "One more thing… I'll clean up the mess."

"No," said Baki. "I will do it. As a shinobi of Kaze no Kuni, of Sunagakure… I must lend my aid to an ally. Besides…" he glared at the proctor through the solid wall. "There's only one mouse."

Gekkou and Baki met at the roof of a building. Gekkou tried to fight Baki. He drew his katana, and pulled out his prime attack, Mikazuki no Mai. One Gekkou became three, and the three danced around the astonished Baki in some bizarre dance. The real Gekkou leapt into the air, and slashed downward a Baki's shoulder. He was able to cut Baki, but not deep enough. Worse yet, his blade was stuck in Baki's jacket shoulder, effectively cutting off any possible counterattack.

"That was Konoha Ryu: Mikazuki no Mai. To have mastered it at such a young age… You are exceptionally talented," said Baki, an evil grin on his face. Gekkou didn't like it, and he was proven right when Baki raised his arm and used the other to grasp the sword in his shoulder. "Your sword technique was excellent… But how can it compare to Blades of Wind?"

Hayate could only watch in horror as a visible aura formed around Baki's raised index and middle finger and as Baki swiped toward him, Hayate's last thoughts were of his ANBU lover, and the life that they would never have.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Baki looked down at the corpse of Gekkou Hayate, then around. The chakra usage had not drawn any attention from the ANBU in the village, and he snorted. Safest and strongest village his ass. He leapt across rooftops, going back to the hotel for foreigners, while keeping an eye on Gaara. He did not notice the woman hiding behind the wall as he passed by.

The "woman" waited, watching Gaara, until Gaara left. "She" emerged, "her" sea-green narrowed, then calmly walked over to where Hayate's corpse lay. "Poor proctor," muttered Burei. "In your attempt to safeguard your village, you were slain, never again to commit yourself to a valiant cause." He leapt over to the building and knelt over Dosu's corpse. "You, on the other hand, I have no sympathy for," he said as he grabbed Dosu's right arm above and below the elbow, and pulled. With a sickening wet "cratch," he pulled Dosu's arm off, Melody Device included. "Mustn't let this go to waste, no no," he muttered as he pulled a sack out of the front of his kimono, and placed the arm inside. His looting done, he leapt off the roof and walked back to the hotel, whistling a haunting melody as he went.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning found Naruto waking up, and going through his morning. After dressing, he pulled the bag that carried the Brain onto his back, and set out to find Ero-Sennin for training. He bit his thumb and smeared blood on his tattoo, and muttered, "Okay Brain, let's go flying." The Brain nodded, and Naruto slammed his right hand on the ground, and summoned Flyer with Brain's aid. Flyer let out a warbling growl as Naruto patted its neck. As Naruto began to climb on, he heard a voice say, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Looking around, he saw Geiruudou meditating on a pillar, Naga below him and staring at Flyer. "What?" asked Naruto.

"Your reckless usage of the Shouhen aside, if you are seen by anyone who haven't seen them before, you could be captured for the secrets of their usage," said Geiruudou, opening his eyes.

"I can take care of myself," said Naruto. "Plus, they won't let any harm come to me."

"As true as that is, there are still shinobi with more talents and experience than you," said Geiruudou, stepping off the pillar. Naga slithered next to him as the two approached Naruto and the two Shouhen. "We promised that we would look after you, and we will not let this village dissect you for secrets to suit their ends."

Naruto winced at the word "dissect," and nodded. "I understand, but I won't be seen. People will look up and think that Flyer is a large bird."

Geiruudou crossed his arms and asked, "Do you know Meisaigakure no Jutsu (3)?"

Naruto squinted. "Mei-what no Jutsu?"

"That answers my question," said Geiruudou. "Basically, the user uses chakra to bend light around them to make them look invisible. It eliminates their scent, their shadow, and if skilled enough, their chakra signature."

"Why would I need to hide with a jutsu?" asked Naruto. "I was wearing bright orange and managed to prank people without getting caught. I only got caught because I jumped out and laughed at them for falling for the pranks. I painted the Hokage monument in broad daylight, and it was only caught after I was just about done. I figure that if they couldn't get me wearing _fucking_ orange in broad daylight, imagine the chaos I can inflict wearing actual shinobi colors." He said that with an evil grin while rubbing his hands together.

"That is worrisome," said Geiruudou, frowning.

"It's also funny," said Gekidou, walking out and stretching. Geki hopped along beside him. "In any case, it would be smarter to not take the flier Shouhen out. Sometimes, people get lucky."

Naruto pointed a finger at him, about to ask who, but stopped and sighed. "Fine," he said, and held out his arm.

"You know, you can just place a hand on the Shouhen and send chakra through it to return it," said Geiruudou.

"Huh," said Naruto, and followed the directions. The Flyer disappeared in a blast of smoke, and Naruto walked out of the gates. "Guess it's the long way, then," he said.

"It's not about the destination!" called out Gekidou. "It's about the journey!"

Speaking of a journey, five ANBU surrounded the corpse of one of their own who had reached the end of his journey. Gekkou Hayate lay dead as crows circled around him, cawing at the loss of potential meat. The purple-haired cat-masked ANBU held his (Hayate's) sword, and then muttered, "Hayate-kun… What happened to you…?"

"Over here!" called another ANBU. When he was joined by the purple-haired cat-masked ANBU, he pointed at the corpse of Kinuta Dosu. "Looks like it was a bad night for both of them."

"Was it the same person?" asked another ANBU.

"No," said Cat. "Hayate-kun's wounds are clean, and there's only one." She motioned to Dosu's corpse. "This poor bastard looks like he was mauled by something bigger."

xxxxxxxxxxx

In the Hokage's office, the Sandaime Hokage had a grand majority of the Jounin there assembled for a meeting, and his Hokage hat was off. Beside him were his two former teammates, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

"I'm sure you've already heard this," said Sandaime, "the body of Hayate Gekkou was found near Kikyou Castle."

There were cries of "What?" and "Hayate?" , followed by Anko's "Did Orochimaru kill him?"

"It's too early to conclude that," said Kakashi, glancing at Anko. "Hayate was most likely trailing the Oto-spy Kabuto. But it is true that Orochimaru is trying to pull off something."

"Then we must cancel the Chuunin Exams, and go after Orochimaru…" said Namiashi Raidou.

"No," said Sandaime. "Orochimaru threatened us not to cancel the exam after he revealed himself to Anko. And the Chuunin Exam is where the ninja of all our allies participate."

"What do you mean?" asked Homura.

"Orochimaru has enough power to conquer a small country. After he left the village, I'm sure that all the other villages had their eyes on him. He harbors a grudge against Konoha… any of our enemies would want him."

"Then can it be," asked Raidou, "that our allies have conspired with Orochimaru to destroy Konoha?!"

As Kakashi elaborated that the alliances between the villages were little more than verbal agreements, Sandaime lowered his head slightly. "That is why we have concluded," he began, "that Suna and Oto will attack Konoha during the final part of the Chuunin Exam."

As the gasps of horror that erupted from nearly every Jounin in the room, he continued. "We do not know yet if this can be confirmed, but we cannot afford to make mistakes. However, should it come to pass…" here he gave a little grin, "we will assemble all of Konoha's power and fight."

With that, the meeting had ended, and the Jounin began filing out of the room. Mikoto, who had resumed active duty, asked Sarutobi, "How is Uzuki Yuugao-chan taking it?"

"As well as expected," said Sarutobi. "She is going about her duties, but wants revenge. May whatever deities exist have mercy on that poor bastard's soul, because she will not."

Mikoto nodded, and left. Sarutobi was left there, thinking, until he frowned. "Come on out, Danzou. Stop skulking in the shadows."

From behind came a man, a frail old man, walking with the aid of a cane. He had black, shaggy hair, and his right eye was bandaged, and he had an x-shaped scar on his chin. He wore a white shirt, with a black or dark grey robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder, with the robe concealing his right arm. This was the unofficial fourth member of the Primary Council, Shimura Danzou. "Hiruzen," said Danzou, nodding towards his colleague.

Sarutobi was in no mood. "What do you want, Danzou?"

"Interesting how things turn out," said Danzou. "You fail to kill Orochimaru, Orochimaru intends to kill you with the aid of Suna. I mean this in the best possible way when I say, your mistakes are going to cost the village."

"You are no better off than I am," growled Hiruzen. "Your former agent is his informant. I wonder how that happened?"

"Look, we can sit here playing the blame game, or we can plan for the coming battle," said Danzou. "What are you going to do?"

Hiruzen was silent. "Let it play through," he said at last. "Surely Kazekage-sama can be made to see reason."

"He sent his son, a known savage, here to compete," said Danzou. "The only reason I see him seeing is reason to see us fall and Suna to rise."

"Make no mistake, Danzou," said Hiruzen. "I am aware of my mistakes, and have acknowledged them. I'm taking responsibility for my failures, and this is an attempt to remedy one of my greatest failures."

"And you consistently make new ones as well," retorted Danzou. "Like with the Jinchuuriki."

"For the last time, stay away from Uzumaki Naruto," said Hiruzen. "Jinchuuriki need their emotions to operate. I'm aware of your training methods, in spite of the fact that Root is disbanded, and I wouldn't be the Professor if I let you have him."

"It's not that," said Danzou. "I'm aware of the fact that Jinchuuriki need their emotions to properly work, so if anything, I would have trained him in the shinobi arts early on, and nothing else. What I refer to are those two so-called 'Uzumaki' you let in to the village. They are molding him into whatever they want, like a sleeper cell. You are planting a seed of the village's destruction."

"If anything, the village has done that already," said Hiruzen sadly. "I agree that it was right to deny any of the clans power over the other, but that placed him at the mercy of the civilians, who know nothing of Fuuin Jutsu. You weren't there when he came back from Nami, but I was. You weren't there in the Preliminaries, but I was. Both times, I have seen the rage that he had repressed for years, but briefly let out. If he went Nuke-nin, I wouldn't blame him. Not to mention it would be a waste of resources to send Hunter-nin after him. At the very least, I can offer him a few concessions, namely his Chuunin rank and clan status, in due time."

Danzou sighed, and walked away. At the door, he turned and said, "Your concessions have a tendency to backfire. I just hope this one doesn't."

"As do I, my friend," said Hiruzen. "As do I."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Naruto had been trying to find Jiraiya, and had looked at the places he had last seen him at. When that failed he sat down and thought, 'Okay, I'm an old lech that gets my jollies by peeping on half-dressed women. Where would I go that I might not get caught?'

Moments later found Naruto at one of the old training grounds. It had been abandoned, and was now used at a retreat for female civilians and kunoichi to kick back and relax without going to the Hot Springs. At length, he found Jiraiya hiding in some bushes peeking at a pair of girls giggling and splashing each other in front of a waterfall, with a bag next to him. Jiraiya was giggling to himself like a madman when he felt a dual-finger double-tap on his shoulder. He looked out of his left eye to see a frowning Naruto with his arms crossed. "Don't you have anything better to do?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "Being taught the Rasengan, which you need to teach me."

"In a minute," said Jiraiya, turning back to the scene. "I've got research to compile."

Naruto sighed and walked away. Jiraiya turned his attention back to the girls, only to have his eyes widen as another girl joined them. "She's... she's perfect," he whispered. "A perfect ten." She was wearing a blue bikini that accented her legs, C-cup breasts, and rear, with her orange hair fashioned into pigtails, the most innocent green eyes, and positively fabulous three-lined red whisker mar... "Wait a minute," he growled. He spun around to see Naruto standing there.

"Are you done yet?" the blonde asked.

"Do you have a sibling I don't know about?" asked Jiraiya.

"No, but you should be concentrating on training me now."

"That had better not be you over there," growled Jiraiya.

"But I'm right here," said Naruto innocently. His brow furrowed as he heard something approaching in the underbrush, and decided that as soon as Jiraiya turned his head, that discretion would be the better part of valor.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is the most versatile Bunshin in existence, and you can spam them like nobody's business," said Jiraiya. "If you ruin this for me, there will be a reckoning."

That said, Jiraiya turned back around to see that the three girls were gone. The sound of a throat clearing caused him to turn his head to the right, and he saw them. The three ladies from with their arms crossing and glares directed at Jiraiya. He turned his head to rage at Naruto, but there was just a little orange-haired boy in a blue shirt with a red spiral flame on the stomach, black shorts, and sandals. "Uh-oh," muttered the Sannin.

"Uh-oh is right, you lech," said the redhead, cracking her knuckles.

"You have a lot of nerve," said the girl with black hair and blue eyes. "Perving while her little brother is around. Have you no shame?"

"Of course I do," said Jiraiya. "I've just temporarily suppressed that shame."

That did it. The three women were on him like scavengers on a carcass. When they were done with him and walked away, the orange-haired girl carrying away her little brother, Jiraiya was groaning and lying in a heap with bruises and torn clothes. Naruto dropped out of a tree and snickered. "What are you laughing at?" groaned Jiraiya.

"You got your ass kicked by two civilians and a Chuunin," said Naruto. "The great Jiraiya done in by his own perversions. There's irony in there, somewhere."

"I didn't know that you knew such big words," snarked Jiraiya as he shakily stood to his feet.

"Ha ha," mocked Naruto. "Now that you're obviously done, teach me."

"After what you just did to me? I think not."

"I didn't do anything," said Naruto, crossing his arms. "That was an actual brother-sister duo that lives in the village. She's a Chuunin that likes cats, so she painted whisker marks on her cheeks, except they look like Kiba's fang marks. Besides, you'd know if either of those two were me from my chakra."

'He's got a point,' thought the Sannin. He growled and said, "Fine then. But first, you need to harness your Lightning chakra. Then I'm going to teach you how to summon the right way. After that, then I'll teach you the Rasengan."

Naruto frowned. "I can already do both," he said, pulling back his left sleeve and holding out his left arm with his hand curled in a claw-like fashion, letting loose a flicker of blue electricity and revealing the summoning tattoo as well.

"Okay, but you're summoning the cheap way," said Jiraiya. "Using a tattoo is a quick and easy way of summoning, but the right way is this way." He bit his thumb, drawing blood, showed Naruto the hand seals - Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, and Ram - and slammed his hands on the ground. The circle and lines appeared, and in a blast of smoke, the Toad from yesterday appeared, with a large scroll in its mouth. It extended the scroll to Naruto, who reluctantly took it.

"That is the Summoning Contract with the Toads that has been passed down for generations," said Jiraiya. "There are others out there... your sensei Kakashi uses dogs, my former teammate Orochimaru uses Snakes, as you know, and my teammate Senju Tsunade uses Slugs. And Sanshouuo no Hanzou should be fairly obvious. Of course, you can try summoning without a contract, but that will take you to the animal that you have a natural affinity for."

"So why are you giving this to me?" asked Naruto. "I can already summon." The Brain appeared over his shoulder and hissed at Jiraiya as proof.

Jiraiya drew back. "What the hell is that?"

"One of my summons, the Shouhen," said Naruto. "Toma said that they're a... hive mind, he called it. They're something like a fusion of beetles and snakes, and can change their shape to adapt to situations... or at least when other Shouhen are around. Plus, they'll only listen to me or someone else I point out."

Jiraiya whistled. "They sound strong, and loyal. But are they all the same?"

"No, they are all different, all ten of them," said Naruto. "The Brain helps me summon the ones I need whenever I need them."

Jiraiya frowned. "That sounds like overreliance," he said. "What will you do if the Brain isn't around?" At Naruto's silence, Jiraiya said, "That's what I thought. Now, using the tattoo and the Brain is okay mid-battle, but if you lose the Brain, then you'll need to use the seals. Try it out... moderate your chakra, and do the seals."

"Do you mind?" Naruto asked, turning his head to look at the Brain. When it shrugged its little shoulders, Naruto went through the seals and slammed his hand on the ground, sending a little chakra through. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke, Fire appeared in front of Naruto.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "What is that one supposed to do?" He immediately jumped to the side as Fire shot a good-sized fireball at him. "Sorry," he said, and Fire snorted and sat next to Naruto. Jiraiya picked up the dropped scroll and gave it back to the toad, who took it and disappeared in a blast of smoke. "Okay then, do you know how send them back?"

"Yeah," he said. He knelt down and rubbed Fire's head, the Shouhen letting out a purring noise. Naruto sent a burst of chakra through his hand, and sent Fire back to the others. "Now what?" he asked.

Jiraiya reached into the bag and tossed a water balloon at Naruto. When Naruto caught it, he raised an eyebrow at the Sannin. "Do you remember what I did to the tree when I did the Rasengan?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "I caught some spinning, and then the back of the tree blew out."

"Yes, there was spinning, from a certain point of view," said Jiraiya. "Now watch this." He grabbed a water balloon and held it in front of the two of them, and before Naruto's eyes, it exploded. "With the tree climbing chakra exercise, your chakra level must be maintained by focusing your mind, and keeping that concentration. With the water walking exercise, you need to release a fixed amount continuously." He pointed at the water balloon in Naruto's hands. "So basically, you're using water walking to maintain a continuous flow."

"Okay, but what exactly am I doing?"

Jiraiya sighed. "It's kind of like reading the elements and trying to predict the outcome, using everything you've been taught thus far. You use the principles from tree climbing to maintain a moderate amount of chakra in your hands, then you use the principles from water walking to release it continuously."

"I get it!" said Naruto. "I use all of that to spin the water in the balloon continuously!"

"Now you've got it," said Jiraiya, patting Naruto's head. "Work on that until nightfall."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

As it stood, it took Naruto two days to get the water inside the balloon spinning. When he showed Jiraiya, the Sannin grinned and said, "Nice job! Next you have to pop the balloon using the water rotations."

Naruto nodded and got to work. Hours passed, and he looked over to see Jiraiya sleeping against a tree. He frowned as Jiraiya's snoring and giggles. "Nyes..." muttered the Sannin. "I am fond of the melons... care to show me your melons, my dear lady?"

Naruto grimaced. "I'd say that he needs to get a wife, but I don't know who would be able to stand him," he muttered. He walked over and kicked Jiraiya in the leg, waking up the Sannin.

"What do you want now?" asked Jiraiya. "Can't you leave me in peace?"

"I would, except you talk in your sleep, which creeps me out," said Naruto. "Now how do I pop this?"

Jiraiya looked at the spinning water balloon in Naruto's right hand and stood. "What direction is it spinning in?"

"It looks like the left," said Naruto.

"Try spinning it to the right," said Jiraiya.

As Naruto attempted to do so, he asked, "How long did it take the Yondaime to learn this?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "He actually made it, and it took him three years." At Naruto's raised eyebrows, he added "He taught it to me, and it took me about a year to learn it. So don't feel bad if you can't do it right away."

Naruto frowned at him. "I'm going to top you both and learn this in by the end of the month."

Jiraiya stared at him, then started laughing. "Boy, if you had said six months, I would have believed you. But a month? Not happening."

"I WILL do it."

"And if you do, I'll give up peeping for a month," shot back Jiraiya.

"Deal!" said Naruto. "And I'll hold you to that!"

Jiraiya laughed again. "You are aware that you have about three weeks left, right? And what do I get if you can't do it?"

Naruto actually had to think on that. Ero-Sennin was willing to give up peeping for a month, so he had to do something equally drastic. "If I can do it, I'll give up ramen for two months."

"And that means what to me?" asked Jiraiya.

"I love Ramen," said Naruto. "I normally eat like five or six bowls in one sitting, and one time I maxed out at twelve bowls. So, I think giving up ramen for two months would be pretty steep."

"Oh god, it's Kushina and her ramen addiction all over again," muttered Jiraiya. "Deal," he said out loud.

"Okay, now give me a hint on how to pop the balloon."

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"I've altered the deal," said Naruto, crossing his arms. "Just a teeny-weeny bit. Nothing major. I mean, it wouldn't kill you to give a hint, 'cause that's how we find the answers on tests. With hints."

Jiraiya growled and muttered, "Fine." He pulled out another balloon and popped it. "I hope you caught that, because that's all you get."

"Fine," said Naruto, and got to work. Several hours later, his right eye was twitching as the balloon flattened, but did not pop. "Why the hell won't you pop?" he growled. 'What did Ero-Sennin do?' he thought. He shut his eyes and looked back at the scene. The balloon stretched and contorted into different shapes, almost like a mini sun, before exploding. He opened his eyes, and looking at the balloon before spinning it. It flattened, and he compared the two in his head. 'Mine flattens, but his gets all dented and deformed,' he thought. 'So... that means... I've got it.' Grinning, he tried striking it with his left hand. The balloon deformed, but it was slow in deforming, and didn't feel right to him. It felt uncomfortable, to say the least. 'Why won't this work?' he thought, frowning. "There is one thing I haven't tried yet," he muttered, and switched hands. Holding the balloon in his left hand and striking with his right, he saw the balloon deform more rapidly and finally explode with a loud pop. "Got it!" he crowed.

"What?" asked Jiraiya, who had been sitting against a tree.

"I figured it out," said Naruto. "You spun the water in the balloon in different directions, which is what made it pop. I'm not that good, so I improvised by striking my balloon and forcing the chakra to go in all directions instead of one."

Jiraiya had to say, he was genuinely impressed. "That's innovative," he said. "You've completed Step 1 of 'How to make a Rasengan'. Now onto Step 2."

Naruto frowned. "How many steps are there?" He winced as his hand clenched in pain.

"Three," said Jiraiya. "Judging by the look on your face, your hand must hurt, doesn't it?"

"A little."

"Well, get ready to cry, because you'll be hurting by the time your finished with Step 2," said Jiraiya, with a sadistic grin on his face. He tossed a rubber ball at Naruto, who caught it. He pulled out another and said, "Now you have to pop this ball, and this'll be a hundred times harder than the balloon." He emphasized the last statement by making the rubber ball explode with a loud pop.

"A hundred times, you say?" asked Naruto. He performed the same technique he applied to the water balloon, to no avail. The ball contorted and distended, but didn't pop. He tried again, to the same result. "What do mean by steps?" he asked.

"Step 1 is spinning, and Step 2 is adding power," said Jiraiya. "If there's no water, then it's harder to feel the chakra moving, so then it's harder to power up or control it. Anyway, while you're doing that, I'm going to go collect research."

"Didn't you just get an ass-kicking?" asked Naruto, frowning. "And you're going to go peeping?"

"I never said that," said Jiraiya. "I said I have to go collect research. I am a spymaster after all. The novel I write is just a side project. A very popular side project that make the people give me their money, but still a side project. The world is in a Cold War; we are never truly at peace. It's my job to check out the other nations and see what they're doing. So on that note... bye." With that, he disappeared.

Naruto frowned. "I hate him, but I'm fine with him at the same time." That said, he got back to work at trying to pop the balloon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Kin watched Zaku sleep, knowing that when he awoke, he had a short time to live, having outlived his usefulness. She sighed, and muttered, "Where the hell is Dosu? Did he get lost last night?" Standing and stretching, she walked out of their room, and outside. She mused on the situation that her team was in; given that Dosu was the only one who won, he was their tether into the village. However, since he was missing, she was starting to fear the worst. And if that happened, then she and Zaku would be sent back to Otogakure. Back to Orochimaru.

She shivered, not from the night air, but from the prospect of what would happen should they return. Zaku would be killed immediately, since as an armless teen, his shinobi career was quintessentially over. And he would be the lucky one. She would be lucky if Orochimaru sliced and diced her to try to retrieve the genetic material within her. At worst, he could throw her to his troops, and given that to her knowledge, there were only three females in Otogakure, that would be a fate worse than death. She'd be passed around and broken in a matter of hours.

"What are you doing out of the hotel?" came a voice. She turned around to the second Chuunin Exam proctor, who was coming out of a bar, with a pink flush on her cheeks.

"Who's asking?" asked Kin.

"Mitarashi Anko," said Anko, an eyebrow raised. "And what are you doing out of the hotel?"

"Thinking," said Kin. "About my village, and this village. And thinking about my teammates."

"Why does it matter? Exams for you are over, so you'll go back to your village after your teammate competes in the finals."

"That's the thing," said Kin. "I think he's dead. He left, saying he was going to try to lighten the competition, and hasn't been back since."

Anko stroked her chin. "And this is my problem how?"

"My teammate Zaku is pretty much done for, but I need your help," said Kin. "Whether you help me or not, I'm not going back to Otogakure. Especially not with Orochimaru in charge."

"And what do you have to offer Konoha?" asked Anko. "What could you possibly tell us that would allow you to stay?"

"One, that Kabuto is a spy for Orochimaru, and two, that Orochimaru and Sunagakure intend to attack Konoha during the Final Exam," said Kin, crossing her arms.

Anko chuckled. "Nice try, but we knew the first one already, and we figured out the second one. So unless you've got something else to barter..."

"Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage's son, is the secret weapon of Sunagakure," Kin said in desperation. At Anko's look, she added. "Orochimaru was interested in replicating Gaara's abilities to manipulate sand, but he decided against it because it was too dangerous to deal with a 'paranoid insomniac with sand powers,' in his words. That's all I could get, but I do know this... his power over sand is unparallel. Trying to attack him will end in death."

"Well, sounds like a potential hostage, once we disable that little feature," finished Anko. Frowning, she straightened and clasped Kin's left shoulder. "You are coming with me."

"Hold on, I've got something to do," said Kin, and she took off, back to the hotel with Anko on her tail. When she got back, she saw the red-headed Kusa-nin - Kari, she thought her name was - walking down the hall. "Excuse me," said Kin, running around her, and into her room. She took off her hitai-ate and placed it on the counter, before he heard a thump. "Zaku?" she called out.

Nothing.

"Anko-san?" she called out again, to the same result. Suspicious, she prepped three senbon and moved toward the open door of her room. Halfway through it, she spied a dark form coming out of Zaku's room, and threw the senbon at it. It kicked a chair in the way, which took the senbon, and rushed her, kicking her out the door. Kin hit the wall, hard, and struggled to her feet, dazed. Her attacker walked out, and she paled.

The man was wearing the standard uniform of an Otogakure Chuunin; a BDU scarf around the neck, a black bodysuit, and a lavender kimono top with the kanji "Oto" on the back. But this one… he was wearing a white mask with slanted eye slits and a stitches over the mouth.

"Hello. My name is Fukumen," said the masked-nin, as he reached for her. "Orochimaru-sama has need of you." He was interrupted by a blast of purple smoke that enveloped him from the right, and looked around.

Kin looked around as well, holding her breath under the assumption that the purple smoke was poison gas. "Come on," said a voice, and a hand grabbed her left arm and pulled her toward the stairs. It was the red-head from earlier. "Why are you helping me?" asked Kin.

"Because it's the right thing to do," said Karin, running down the stairs. "Plus, I need to talk to that woman who came in with you as well."

"You aren't doing anything, except going to Orochimaru-sama," said Fukumen, kicking them both down the stairs. The two kunoichi tumbled down one after the other, until they landed near the bottom, in pain and with bruises galore. Fukumen looked down at both impassively. "Shame on you, Karin," he said. "After everything Orochimaru-sama has done for you, you think you can just abandon him?"

Through the pain, Kin winced in shock. 'She was working for Orochimaru? Just how many villages does he have his coils in?'

"Nggh... He told me I was alone," said Karin. "But I'm not alone. And... I suspect that he knew that, too."

"Whatever the reason, our lord does not take treason lightly," said Fukumen, pulling two senbon out of his pouch. "And given that you two resisted, he will not mind if I brought you two to him a bit injured." He suddenly ducked as a snake flew at him, and when he stood up, a horde of kunai impacted on his front, causing him to fall back. The girls wearily looked to see Anko standing there, a frown on her face. The snake slithered onto him, and bit the exposed flesh of the back of his neck, then slithered back to its mistress.

'If he wasn't dead from the kunai, then the snakebite got him,' thought Anko. "Are you two alright?" she asked, then grinned at their glares. "Well, you've got the energy to glare, so let's get you out of here." She put her hands into the familiar cross-shaped seal, and two Anko's flickered into existence. Gently picking up the two kunoichi, she said, "We'll go to my house for the night, and then meet up with the Hokage in the morning."

The next morning found the three kunoichi standing before the Hokage. Hiruzen sat with his hands clasped as he gazed at the three. "So you are confirming what we have discovered?" he asked Kin.

"Hai," she said, bowing. "Plus that Sabaku no Gaara is the trump card of the attack. While you are dealing with the invasion, he is supposed inflict as much damage as possible, and with his sand powers, that is a lot of damage."

"And where do you fit in this?" he asked, turning to Karin.

"Even though it appears that I am from Kusagakure, I was sent there by Orochimaru," said Karin. She ignored Kin and Anko's sharp breath intakes, and continued. "He rescued me out of my destroyed home village, and cared for me. He sent me to infiltrate the village through the second Kusagakure team, under the nose of the Kusa Daimyou. My mission was to observe Uchiha Sasuke, and if he was weakened by the Juuin Fuuin, then to lead Yakushi Kabuto to him for abduction, or abduct him myself by any means necessary."

"And why haven't you done so?" asked Anko.

Karin blushed. "It'll sound cliche and silly, but because of a boy. A boy who claims that we are family."

"You're right, that is silly," said Anko, frowning. "Most of our female academy students that passed our exams joined the program because of a boy. Now that number is down to three, and out of those three, the only really dangerous one was the Hyuuga girl, and she was a stuttering, shy little thing. What is so great about this boy that made you want to leave Orochimaru?"

"Like I said, he offered me the hand of friendship and family!" said Karin hotly. "He's also strong and mysterious, much better than the Uchiha Orochimaru had me chasing after."

"Well, in a moment, we'll find out whether what you say is true or not," said Hiruzen, as he nodded to Anko. Anko nodded back and opened the door to reveal two men; one man was the proctor of the First Exam, Morino Ibiki, while the other was a man that had long blond hair reaching into his back, which he wore spiky on top and ending in a long ponytail, blue-green eyes and strong facial features, which included a well defined jaw line. He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket over a black outfit, complete with grey hand-guards, forehead protector and a sleeveless red haori.

"Morino-san you know," said Hiruzen, nodding to the scarred Tokubetsu Jounin, who nodded back. He pointed at the blonde man; "This is Yamanaka Inoichi, who will verify everything you told us."

Inoichi nodded and walked over to the two kunoichi. "Please don't fight," he said, placing a hand on Kin's head. "That'll make this more difficult." He closed his eyes, and for a few moments, nothing was said. At length, he lifted his hand and said, "Confirmed. Everything she said is true."

"Your turn," said Ibiki to Karin. Karin slowly approached and Inoichi placed his hand on her head. After several minutes, he let go, but he was visibly amused. "Confirmed," he said. "Everything she said is true as well. And the boy in question is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Interesting," said Hiruzen, to the shocked looks of Anko, Karin, and Kin. "I would recommend that you remove your current hitai-ate's and come for registration and evaluation at a later date. But until then, I believe that the Uzumaki compound is your next destination."

A few minutes later found the three kunoichi outside the Uzumaki compound. "Good lord," said Kin. "This looks like a fortress."

"This wasn't here before," said Anko, before she banged on the gate. "Anybody home!?" she called.

"Quiet down," came Geiruudou's voice, and he appeared behind the gate. He gazed at the three kunoichi before offering his judgment. "It is good to finally meet face-to-face, Uzumaki-san," he said, nodding to Karin. He nodded to Anko in respect, who nodded back. Looking at Kin, he raised an eyebrow. "And you are...?"

"Tsuchi Kin, formerly of Otogakure," said Kin, bowing at the waist. "Naruto-san knows me."

"Naruto-sama knows a lot of people," said Geiruudou. "But I supposed I will have to defer to his judgment." He opened the gates, and the three kunoichi stepped over the threshold into the compound. Gekidou was there, performing handstand pushups with his legs in the air, while Geki watched. Geki looked over at the four approaching, and let out a croak, startling the two Genin. Gekidou flipped and stood before them, grinning madly at the sight of the three kunoichi. "Hello, ladies," he said. "I'm Uzumaki Gekidou, and this is Uzumaki Geiruudou. What can we do for you? Especially you, miss..." he appeared behind Anko, who frowned at him.

"Mitarashi Anko," said Anko. "And you can step out of my personal space. Geiruudou-san," she said, turning to the covered Uzumaki, "could you lead us to Naruto-san?"

"Okay, but he's dead tired," said Geiruudou leading them to his apartment. "He was working on a project that Jiraiya-san assigned him."

"Oi, Naruto-sama!" called Gekidou, knocking on the door. "You've got visitors!" Groans and shuffling was heard in the apartment, before the door opened, heralded by Naruto's "Yeah, what?". Geiruudou winced and looked away, while Gekidou started laughing like a madman. The three kunoichi on the other hand...

"Good lord, he's bigger than anyone near my age," said Anko, grinning. Karin and Kin simply blushed and tilted their heads slightly.

Naruto was still rubbing his eyes when he saw three reddening kunoichi staring at him, while Geiruudou had his back turned and Gekidou looked in the other direction. At the feel of cool morning air breezing around him, he looked down to see that he was gloriously naked, thereby flashing everyone in sight. He swore and walked back inside, calling out, "I'll be back in a minute!"

Anko was giggling like a schoolgirl as she eyed Naruto's cheeks. "Thirteen years old and eight inches," she giggled. "Would you object if I kidnap him for a couple days?"

Geiruudou said "Yes," at the same time Gekidou said, "No." The two brothers looked at each other, while Kin and Karin gaped at Anko.

"Have you no shame?" asked Karin. "Trying to seduce my little cousin?"

"Don't be such a prude," said Anko. "Shinobi, short lifespan, lots of loving whenever we can. Beside," she smirked. "I can see that look in your eyes. Both of you. You both want a test ride of his Uzumaki man-me-"

"That's enough of that," said Naruto, coming out in his blue jumpsuit and his pack with the Brain. "Oh, hey Karin, Kin," he said, nodding at the two and reddening. "Sorry about the whole... you know..."

"Whelp, we found your quirk," said Gekidou, laughing. "You like flashing people."

"No, I don't!" Naruto shot back. "That was an accident! I just fell asleep naked!"

"So you sleep in the nude then?" said Gekidou, still laughing. At Naruto's frown, he said, "You walked into that one. Beside, all Uzumaki have some kind of quirk to them. You already know my problem, and Geiruudou here is a stoic bastard who only shows emotion when I'm in pain or something." He glared at Geiruudou, whose lips curved up in a knowing smirk. "Saitou's a chronic smartass, Tsurina likes poisons, Toma likes storytelling, and Joumaru is psychotically polite. Seriously, he apologizes for smacking whoever around, even enemies. Daikani's... well... he aims to please the Uzumaki as a whole, and is fanatically loyal to any and every that's near."

"I wonder what Karin's quirk is," said Kin, before ending up in a chokehold by said Uzumaki.

"How about kicking the ass of some smartass?" she growled.

"Knock it off," said Naruto.

"Hai," said Karin, letting Kin go. "So... how do I handle my team finding out about this? I mean, I was sent as an infiltrator..."

"This sounds interesting," said Geiruudou, crossing his arms. "Whose infiltrator?"

"Orochimaru's," said Anko, frowning. "Turns out that Orochimaru picked her up out of a destroyed village, and trained her up. He sent her in to monitor Uchiha Sasuke and abduct him, if possible."

"Why the hell would this Orochimaru fellow want Uchiha Sasuke?" asked Gekidou. "What would he gain... Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Orochimaru wants the Sharingan to learn every jutsu in the world," said Anko. "And he wants to be immortal."

"Immortality's overrated," said Geiruudou. "We Uzumaki are the closest thing to immortal humans, and most of the elders have called our kekkei a gift and a curse. Sure, we heal faster that many, but when faced with the prospect of outliving our non-Uzumaki friends and family, many of us will choose a death in glorious combat. Rarely has an Uzumaki died outside of battle... the last was Mito-sama."

"Wait, do you mean Senju Mito?" asked Anko.

"Yes," said Geiruudou, his left eyebrow twitching. "She was an Uzumaki who married into the Senju family..."

"I hate to interrupt this history session," said Naruto, "But I've got crap to do. Karin and Kin, you can pick out whichever apartment you want, and Ruudou and Kidou will help get you settled in. Anko-san, thanks for bringing them over."

"The pleasure was all mine," said Anko, sidling up to Naruto until she stood in front of him. "And you may be seeing me again."

Naruto was nervous, not just by the fact that there were a magnificent pair of breasts covered only by netting that were close to his face, but also by the fact that he still remembered what happened the first time he met Anko. 'I don't know whether to be scared or aroused,' he thought. "Maybe," he said out loud, stepping to the side. "Cheers!" he was out the gate in a flash, leaving two people bemused, two outraged, and one stoic.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"**New mate?**" asked the Brain, as Naruto walked down the street, his eyes darting to and fro in watching people begin their day. He raised an eyebrow as many caught sight of him and turned their backs to him. Shun, their body language said. Shun.

"No," Naruto snorted. "I think she just wants to mate, not be a mate." He had to simplify it so the Brain could understand in its childlike and animalistic mind. He also snorted at the attitude of the villagers. Their stupidity was their loss and his gain; meaning that he'd know the truth-tellers from the liars, and currently, they were telling the truth about how they felt towards him. Problem was, once word of his heritage came out, these very same people would be treating him like Sasuke; acting like he was the next thing to a village treasure, and probably believing that thirteen years of hate could be swept under the rug. 'But I already am a treasure, I suppose,' he thought. 'Just these people won't see it until it's too late.'

"**Same thing?**" asked the Brain, in regards to what Naruto said about Anko.

"Not quite," said Naruto, closing his eyes. He was feeling a niggling in the back of his head, and came to the conclusion that it was the Watcher. His vision connected, he could see her awake, and sitting up. Grinning, he leapt to the rooftops and ran along until he reached the hot springs. As he predicted, Jiraiya was crouching outside the women's side, but his back was to the fence.

"This is new," said Naruto as he approached. "What are you doing?"

"Playing the waiting game," said Jiraiya. "Have you decided to give up?"

"No, I was just coming to tell you that I'm going to see my lady friend, and then, continue training."

"This would be a good time to see this Hyuuga lady friend of yours," said Jiraiya, standing up.

"You write about her," said Naruto, crossing his arms, "and I'll shove my foot so far up your ass, the sweat on my knee will quench your thirst."

"You're about twenty years too early to think that you can beat me," said Jiraiya, snickering.

The two walked off, and within in a few minutes, reached the hospital. Naruto breezed past the protesting receptionist, and made his way to Hinata's room, while Jiraiya started hitting on a brunette nurse halfway there. When Naruto arrived outside her door, he heard someone coldly speaking to the Hyuuga heiress. The voice was male, and with an unhealthy amount of disdain.

"How could you lose to another Genin, and a Hyuuga Branch member at that? Do you realize what this says for the clan? It says that the Branch Family is stronger than the main family, and that is cause for a possible revolt! Your weakness may bring about the destruction of the Hyuuga, and what do you have to say for yourself?"

Hinata soft voice wafted through the air. "I-I w-warned everyone that the c-clan was in d-danger of destroying it-itself already with the C-Caged Bird Seal, b-but I was ignored. And in r-regards to m-my lost match, i-it says that I was obviously outmatched, b-but I f-fought long enough t-to make him th-think twice before fighting me. Y-Yes, Otou-sama, I lost against N-Neji-nii-san, but p-part of the reason lies in y-your teachings."

Naruto frowned, not at shy Hinata-chan coming out of her shell. He was happy about that, but she was talking back to her father, and insulting him at the same time. Admirable, but foolish, considering the age and power difference between the two. Of course, if that were him in that room, he'd be doing exactly what she was doing.

Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga Clan, had to admire his daughter's courage to backtalk him. It showed that she wasn't so weak and timid after all, but it also showed that she had a bit of insolence in her. Insolence that needed to be dealt with.

His Byakugan slowly activating, he growled, "Watch your tone with me, daughter." He slowly flexed his hands under his robes, waiting for her to say the wrong thing.

And she did. "I-It is true o-otou-sama," She cleared her throat and spoke as calmly as she could. "Y-You did not train me as you should have, s-so part of the fault of my defeat lies with you, as well as myself."

Hiashi stood up rapidly, his eyes blazing, and snarled, "Watch your mouth!" When he heard Hinata gasp, he barely noticed the flicker of chakra behind him, but he felt the crushing grip on his shoulder.

"This is a hospital, Hyuuga-dono," said Naruto, lightly grinning. Hinata and Hiashi could tell that it was forced. Even though he was shorter than Hiashi, he still able to reach the Hyuuga head's shoulder with an arm. Naruto's grip on Hiashi's shoulder tightened, making the Hyuuga clan head wince. "You're supposed to treat the patients with tender care… even more so if they're your family." Internally, he was grinning at the burn he delivered; Genin manages to sneak up on Clan Head.

Hiashi scoffed, and shook off Naruto's hand, wincing as he did so. "What are you doing here… Uzumaki?"

"I just came to see how Hinata-chan was doing, considering her cousin almost killed her… but not until after she gave his body a lesson he wouldn't forget," snickered Naruto.

"Well, you've seen my worthless daughter, now leave," said Hiashi coldly.

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Worthless? Hyuuga-dono, would that insult you as well, since you provided most of the necessary material?"

Ouch, burn number two; the insult of the Hyuuga head's manhood, genes, and skills. Hiashi growled, "How dare you!? Hinata lost to Neji because she was weaker than he… even Hanabi, her younger sister by five years, is stronger than she is!"

"Or maybe Hinata-chan has a special hidden power that you don't know about," shot back Naruto.

"Bah, I have no time for this," said the disgusted Hyuuga head as he turned around. "Hinata will be regulated to the Branch Family for her failure, and that is it. Neji is perhaps the strongest Hyuuga besides myself, and nothing will change that."

"Wanna bet?" grinned Naruto, his eyes turning a cold icy blue.

Hiashi was about to send off a nasty retort when an idea hit him. An awful idea. Hiashi had a wonderful, awful idea. At his gloriously insidious idea, Hiashi gave life to it. "You say, you want to bet, do you? Very well. When you lose to my nephew, you will abandon your ambition of Hokage, and be regulated into the Branch Family along with my worthless daughter, since you seem to care so much."

"And when I kick Neji's ass like a sack of potatoes, you keep Hinata-chan in the Main Family, and you start treating her like what she is… your daughter."

This gave Hiashi pause. Why was the Kyuubi-brat so concerned for his daughter's well-being? He shook his head, and looked down at Naruto's outstretched hand. "What?"

"This is how bets are sealed. We have witnesses, we shake hands to seal the deal, and that's it. No strings attached," said Naruto.

Hiashi snorted. "What witnesses? Besides my worthless daughter, there are no other witnesses, and you need an impartial third party."

"And that's my cue," said Jiraiya, as he walked in. "'Sup, Hiashi?"

Hiashi visibly frowned. "Jiraiya-sama. What are you doing here?"

Jiraiya crossed his arms and grinned. "Well, I was feeling lonely, so I decided to see if there was a nurse that was going off duty soon, and wanted to see if she needed help unwinding. Of course, my intended happens to go past here, so I follow her and happen to hear everything. So, I decided, since this seems to be something close to a project I was working on, I thought 'How about I be the impartial third party?'"

Hiashi frowned. He would have agreed to Naruto's terms, of course, but after more negotiations. Plus, Jiraiya was one of the few shinobi he knew he would have trouble fighting if he was one to renege on a deal, which he wasn't. So reluctantly, the Hyuuga head shook hands with the blonde, who then added hastily, "I'm also going to be courting your daughter." Grinning nastily, Hiashi said, "Denied. She will marry a clan heir when she is of age, and no other. Even if you somehow defeat Neji, she will still be bound under our laws, and she will marry the strongest clan heir available. And so, I bid you good day."

With that, the Hyuuga head turned on his heel and left. As soon as he was gone, Naruto snickered and said, "Well, I'm a strong clan heir of a renowned clan, so, I think I qualify as a potential suitor." Feeling sets of eyes on him, he turned around to see Hinata and Jiraiya staring at him. "What?"

"N-Naruto-kun, though I admire y-you defending me," said Hinata, "Why did you antagonize my o-otou-sama?"

"Needless to say Hinata-chan, your dad's a major prick. Not as big as Sasuke, so I respect him a little, but he's up there," said Naruto, crossing his arms.

"Yes, but now you've made an enemy for life," she said.

"I'd have to agree," said Jiraiya. "Hyuuga Hiashi is a powerful clan head, and I'm not just talking as a shinobi. He's the head of one of the four Royal Clans of Konoha, and a diplomat as well."

"Look, I'm not gonna stand by and let him insult Hinata-chan!" said Naruto indignantly. "I was just trying to take him down a peg, since he seemed so high and mighty like Neji, and since he's so concerned with trying to prove that Hinata-chan's worthless, that would mean that any short-comings came mainly from him, since he provided the necessary genetic materi…" Naruto trailed off as he came to a realization as to what he had actually said to the Hyuuga head, and winced. "Now that I think about it, I need to think before I react."

"Ain't that the truth?" said Jiraiya. "Still, this would make a great novel. A princess hated by her own family and in love with an unknown heir who will battle the strongest member of her family for her honor and her hand in marriage. Maybe that'll attract some female readers."

"Remember my threat from earlier, Ero-Sennin," said Naruto, pointing at him. "Hinata-chan's the closest thing to an angel in this whole blasted village, and I won't let her be corrupted."

Jiraiya snorted. "Bit late for that," he muttered. At loud he said, "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna continue learning the Rasengan," said Naruto. "I will learn it by the end of the month. In the meantime," he turned to Hinata. "When do you get out of the hospital?"

"I-In a couple of days," she answered. "A-As soon as I finish h-healing."

"Good, because I'll be taking you out for dinner, my treat," he said, smiling. He frowned when Hinata reddened and fell back with a smile on her face. "Crap," he said, and gently slapped her cheeks. "Hinata-chan?"

"Good lord, that boy is thick," said Jiraiya, shaking his head and walking out. "Now where is that hot little nurse of mine?" he mused as he walked down the hallway.

At length, Naruto managed to get Hinata awake, and the blushing Hyuuga looked down. "G-Gomen nasai, N-Naruto-kun," she said. "I fainted."

"No worries," said Naruto. "But we'll have to work on that. In the meantime," he walked over to the corner and brought up the Watcher. "I've had this guy watch over you, to make sure nothing happens?"

Hinata was actually of two minds on that revelation. On the one hand, she was touched that he had a summon looking over her while she recovered. On the other hand, that was kind of creepy, because it sounded like he didn't trust her alone. "N-Naruto-kun," she began. "I-I'm honored, b-but I can take care of m-myself."

"I know," he said. "And I don't mean to sound overbearing, but call it a precaution. If you want Watcher gone, I can return it back to the others."

The option was taken out of their hands as the Watcher squirmed out of Naruto's arms and leapt onto the bed. It looked at Hinata, then nestled itself in her lap. "I-I think it wants to stay," she said.

"And on that note, I will see you later, and let you recover," said Naruto. Then, on an impulse, he gently placed his right hand on her cheek. "I'm new to this whole thing, but I'm going to try my best not to screw up."

"O-Okay," she whispered, then her lips caught his in their first kiss. It was a magical moment, and both hoped that it would never end.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later, Naruto frowned as he tried to make the rubber ball burst, only for it to deform and contort, and eventually retake its shape. He was stuck on the Second Step, and was on the brink of exhausting himself. What made it worse was that he was running out of time; he had a little over two weeks left before the final, and while it didn't matter to him whether or not he used the Rasengan for the Finals, it was the principle of the matter. He set a goal, and he was damn well going to reach it!

He sighed, sitting down. He needed to get ahold of a Raiton ninjutsu as well, and he needed to look at that scroll he got earlier. No point in letting a perfectly good jutsu go to waste. He turned his head to look at the Brain, who was looking all around, keeping watch. "Oi, Brain, I need to summon the Hunter," he said.

"**Yes**," thought-spoke the Brain, and centered its thoughts on the Hunter. Naruto bit his thumb and swiped the blood on his tattoo, then slammed his hands on the ground with a burst of chakra. In a puff of smoke, the Hunter appeared, and leapt at him, licking each cheek with a head.

"Nice to see you, too," he said, rubbing each head. "I have a job for you." He pulled out an empty scroll and scribbled two sentences; "one Raiton Ninjutsu, please," and "one Fuuton Ninjutsu, please". "I need you to find Kakashi-sensei, and give him this." He handed the scroll to the Hunter, who grasped it in the right head. "He looks like this." Naruto used Henge to transform into Kakashi, and held the transformation. "And this is very important… try to avoid being seen. And do not give that to anyone except Kakashi-sensei." As he released the Henge, the Hunter bounded off. That task done, Naruto got back to work and concentrated on the rubber ball. "Pop, damn you," he growled. "Pop!" Out of anger, he sent a burst of chakra into ball, causing it to deform and contort. It expanded and expanded, until finally it exploded, sending bits of rubber everywhere.

Naruto leapt into the air, yelling, "I did it! I popped the rubber ball!" He grinned, and went off to find Jiraiya. He ran around looking for the Sannin, but found Mikoto walking about instead. Of course, he was wary of approaching her, given that despite the close-eyed smile on her face, the fiery entity was above her head. Plus, she was being given a wide berth by the civilians. He presumed that they couldn't see it, because they were looking at her and not above her, and figured that the flaming head is only visible to shinobi. "Hey, Mikoto-san," he said, walking next to her. He could feel the Brain quivering inside the pack, and was amazed that the Shouhen could feel fear.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun," she said, smiling down at him. The fiery entity looked at him, then looked away.

"W-What happened?" he asked. "You seem annoyed."

"Oh, just that Sasuke-kun escaped from the hospital and didn't even try to see his dear old mother," she mused.

"I'm sure that he's going to see you at some point," said Naruto. They walked in silence, ignoring the incredulous looks of the villagers. "So," Naruto started. "I've got a date in a few days, and I'd rather not ask my relatives on pointers. Can you give me any?"

"A date?" asked Mikoto, incredulous. "Which lucky little lady are you treating to a date?"

"Hinata-chan?"

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, and the entity disappeared. "Hinata, as in Hyuuga Hinata? How did you get Hiashi to agree to let you court her? The last time I checked, he and most of the Main Family were more interested in expanding their influence."

Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well, I made a bet with him about the finals," he said grinning. "If I kick Neji's ass, then he has to treat Hinata like his daughter and keep her in the Main Family. If I lose, then we both go to the Branch Family."

Mikoto stared down at him stonily. "That was reckless and stupid," she said. "If you lose, you'd have to give up all your dreams and ambitions, and become a slave to the Hyuuga, and I guarantee you that you will be treated poorly. And you are willing to do that for a girl... why is that?"

"Because she doesn't deserve to be treated like nothing," said Naruto. "She reminds me of myself... only she's a girl, and doesn't have an angry fox locked away." He rubbed his hand conspiratorially. "Plus, he said that she could only marry a strong clan heir, and wouldn't you know it, look at what I am... a strong clan heir to a powerful family."

Mikoto sighed, as if she was remembering something. "You sound noble," she said. "A bit dense and silly, but noble. So much like your father." At length, they arrived at the Uchiha district and the home of Mikoto and Sasuke. Mikoto invited him in and the two found their way to the kitchen. "First, girls like good first impressions," said Mikoto. "For example, pull out my seat."

Naruto pulled out the chair, and Mikoto sat down. "It is the polite thing to seat the woman first before seating yourself." When Naruto sat down and placed the bag with the Brain on the ground, she continued. "Have good manners. Having terrible manners is a surefire way on making it so you will have no more dates. Don't act uninterested or frown, because it makes you look like there's something wrong with her. And gazing off into space while she's eating or talking isn't good either, and makes it look like you want to get out as soon as possible."

"I get that," said Naruto. "But I have a problem... I'm always on alert, and I find it hard to concentrate on something for a long time. What do I do about that?"

"Concentrate on your date," said Mikoto. "I understand that as shinobi, we have to always be alert, but while on your date, keep your attention on her. Don't be crazy about it either, because staring at her is going to scare her. Just... be honest with how you go about things."

Naruto, by this point, was making the attempt to pay attention to her, but the Brain was waving at him. "I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, "but do you have any meat? The Brain is hungry?"

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, and looked down to see the Shouhen. By far, her reaction was the tamest he had seen. She raised an eyebrow, and asked "Does it matter if it is cooked or not?"

Naruto shook his head, and Mikoto rose and went past him to the fridge. Naruto watched her go, and his eyes were drawn to her swaying hips and fantastic derriere as she walked past and slightly bent over into the fridge, looking for meat for the Brain. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "No, no, you're here to learn, Naruto. Mikoto-san is off-limits. But she's pretty hot... No! Off-limits!" He straightened as Mikoto came back with a plate that had a piece of uncooked steak on it. He accepted it and gave it to the Brain, who began devouring it with gusto.

As Mikoto retook her seat, she said, "Another thing to remember: Concentrate on your date. Don't check out anyone else, because that gives off the idea that you may be unfaithful to her in the future, if you two end up together."

Naruto winced internally. He nearly screwed up on that, and he hoped that she didn't notice that he was checking her out while she was getting the meat. "That... shouldn't be too hard," he said.

"Also, don't talk about past relationships," she added. "You will only project the impression that you are unable to let go. If your date asks about your last relationship, just tell them that you realized the two of you weren't as compatible as you initially thought, so you have moved on to look for someone with whom to discover greater mutual happiness. Keep it brief and don't ask about their ex."

"That won't be a problem for me, because this'll be the first relationship I've had," said Naruto.

"Good," said Mikoto. "Also, remember not to exaggerate or boast about your successes or status; that makes you sound like a braggart. Just tell your date about what you really enjoy in life, like what gets you excited, and what you want to leap out of bed to pursue. Ask them what they really love in life and what gets them excited."

"I was doing some of that with Hinata-chan back before we did the Preliminaries," said Naruto.

Mikoto nodded, and smiled. "Good," she said. "That makes things a little easier. Remember to be positive; don't ruin a date because you had a bad day, otherwise the date will end on a sour note for the both of you. Finally, relax and be original. Do something that will bring an honest smile to her face, and let her have fond memories of her first date."

Naruto nodded. "Just out of curiosity, what happened on your first date?"

Mikoto was taken aback. "Well," she said, "Fugaku took me to a festival, then we ate at a restaurant, and finished with a moonlit stroll."

Naruto nodded and stood. "Thanks for your help," he said, and pulled out her chair. As she stood, he picked up the Brain and put him back in the pack, and put the pack on his back. "I will make an effort to try to do what you said, but I will be original. I am Uzumaki Naruto, after all."

Mikoto smiled and bent down. "Good luck," she said, and kissed his cheek, catching him by surprise. "I wish you two the best."

Naruto grinned a little and said, "Thanks," and out the door he went. Mikoto watched him go, before walking to her room and sitting on her bed. She reached into the bedside drawer and pulled out a picture, a picture that had her and Kushina on it in their teenage years. "He reminds me so much of you, Kushi-chan," she said. "You and his father. I just hope he can have a better end than you two had. He deserves it."

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(1) Mitsu no Kuni = Honey Country

(2) Utsukushisa = Beauty

(3) Meisaigakure no Jutsu = Hidden Camouflage Technique

Well, that took awhile; finished this at near 1AM, and no new Naruto chapter released yet... at least, not at the site I go to. Thanks to all the reviews and favorites/alerts you've been sending me, you all have been great. Also, BEWARE. SOPA is back... or at least a provision is. Said provision would state that uploading copyrighted material, in spite of the Fair Use Rule, would be a criminal offense. Now, if the owners want the stuff taken down, then we would oblige. Penalizing us for uploading stuff that other people would see for no profit to us... really, government? Really? Beware, because they are trying to sneak this in.

Moving on, next chapter is the end of the training month and the Chuunin Exam Finals, plus something... extra. Trust me, you will NOT believe the insanity coming next chapter. Also, there are all kinds of hints everywhere... pay attention to the hints, because they come into play later. Finally, as always, review and offer suggestions, and I will answer any questions you have regarding the story to my fullest. Ja ne, everybody! Ja ne!


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